Officer Sato
by weebee
Summary: Summary inside. Futurefic. An old one that's still got a lot of dust on it, mind the coughing fits.
1. Chapter 1

  
Officer Sato, by Weebee.

Disclaimer. I own my bed, my TV and my PS2. That's it. Did you see Ranma in that list? No, I thought not!

Summary: Ranma has been locked as a girl for ten years, and become a member of the Tokyo Police Department. Now, she's being transferred to the Nerima and Juuban patrol. Will this destroy the new life she's built? How will the NWC cope with an older Ranma, who actually enforces the law rather than breaking it?

Chapter 1, You have GOT to be kidding me…

In down town Tokyo, a woman sat in a small white car, the symbol on the door reading "Tokyo Police Department." She was short, about four eleven and had bright red hair tied back in a pigtail. She took a sip of her coffee and tapped her slim fingers on the steering wheel, looking impatient. "C'mon Kimiko. How long does it take to get a damned cup of coffee." She muttered, as she glared at the coffee shop across the street. As she did so, another woman, this one significantly taller, exited the building. She was tall for a Japanese female, coming to about five six, and wore her brown hair in a pageboy style reminiscent of Nabiki Tendo. The redhead shook her head at the thought of the middle, or any for that matter, Tendo. She had left all that behind a long time ago.

"Come on Kimiko, we're gunna be late!" The redhead yelled, leaning out of the window of the white police cruiser.

"All right already. Chill out, Ranko!" Kimiko said, hopping into the passenger seat of the car. "Maybe this will cheer you up." Saying this, she pulled out a large chocolate doughnut.

"You do know you're fuelling police stereotypes, right?" Ranko asked, as she grabbed the doughnut eagerly and gazed at it rapturously. She loved sweets, chocolate in particular.

Kimiko giggled. "Not like it matters, now let's go."

Ranko reluctantly placed her doughnut on a cloth on the seat next to her, turning the key in the car's ignition and shifting into gear. She'd never know why the force insisted on a standard shift system, especially with the shotgun wedged in next to the gear shift. It always made her nervous that she'd accidentally pull the trigger and send a bullet into the engine. Shrugging it off, she began driving into the maelstrom of traffic, headed for police HQ.

HR

"You're what?" Ranko asked, as she looked in astonishment at her supervisor.

"I'm re-assigning you, Sato." The man said, calmly. "The brass made this decision, not me. They think you're… too enthusiastic for your work." He explained, shrugging.

"Is this about that guy last week?" Ranko asked, shaking her head. "I told you that was necessary!"

"And I agree with you." The supervisor cut her off. "The brass doesn't agree with me, though. Since they think you like using excessive force, you're being transferred to the Nerima-Juuban beat."

Ranko staggered back as if she'd been slapped in the face with a dead fish. "N… Nerima?" She asked, quavering.

"Is there a problem with that Ms. Sato?" The supervisor asked, wondering at the reaction. "I'm sorry, but unless you have a legitimate reason for objecting to your new beat assignment it's going through. Do you?"

Thoughts flitted through Ranko's head rapidly. Should she tell him? No. There would be no point, since he wouldn't believe her anyways. Why did she have to get assigned THERE of all places! She briefly contemplated resigning from the PD over this, but she'd been fighting for too damned long to become an officer, like every other woman in the force, to give it up now. Besides, what else was she good for? Sighing in resignation, Ranko nodded. "I'll take the assignment, sir. Is Kimiko being assigned there with me?"

The supervisor nodded. "Yes, of course. Now she DOES use excessive force. Perfect place for her, really."

Ranko chuckled humourlessly before saluting her boss and walking from the room. She turned as he said one last thing. "Good luck, Sato."

"Thanks sir, I'm gunna need it." Ranko said, sourly.

The older man just laughed.

HR

Later that day, Ranko was slumped in her apartment, glaring at the ceiling. How had this happened after so many years? She had thought that she'd escaped that place ten years ago, even if it had cost her her manhood. Frowning sourly, she remembered that day.

(Flashback.)

Today was quite possibly the worst day in Ranma Saotome's life. Here he was, in the middle of the destroyed Tendo Dojo, watching as Akane cried while the other girls threw explosives or poison everywhere. Strangely, Only Ukyo and Kodachi were there. Shampoo hadn't shown up, and he wondered why. He looked to the side to see Ryoga, Mousse and his father fighting over the casque of Nannittuan. Shaking his head in disgust, he turned to try and deflect some debris from Akane's crumbled form. If the situation wasn't so nuts, he would probably be wrestling with the other men to get his hands on the damned cure, but it didn't matter anymore. Deflecting a throwing spatula from taking Akane's head off, Ranma heard three men gasping in horror. Looking at them, he saw a barrel flying through the air. As it got to a certain position in the air, he thought it should have been deflected somehow, but it wasn't. Then again, it was headed straight for him. Well, it wasn't much of a comfort after the hell that this day had been, but at least he would be a full man again.

As the casque of water hit Ranma in the back, it split open and released it's cargo to douse him… and change him into a girl. "Wh… what?" She asked, puzzled. The battles around her ground to a stunned halt, as everyone stared at the red haired girl, the remains of a casque that was supposed to contain Nannittuan shattered at her feet.

"What happened?" Genma asked, his eyes wide as saucers. As he said that, the sound of a pogo cane hitting the ground rapidly hit the floor behind him.

Cologne came tearing into the room as fast as she could, but a look of sadness came across her features as she caught sight of the soaked and female Ranma. "I'm too late…" She muttered, shaking her head.

(End Flashback.)

Ranko laughed bitterly. Damned right the old lady was too late. It turned out that the casque was actually filled with water from the locking ladle, that Shampoo had stolen from her great grandmother and switched with the real water. The problem with that? Herb had destroyed both the locking ladle and kettle after his run-in with them, and there was no water from the kettle kicking around. That's when the true hell started. Her 'Mother' decided that being a girl wasn't 'manly' but since she had already declared the pledge fulfilled Ranko was just sent Ronin from the clan. The Tendos had tried to support her for a while, but Ranko had also been forbidden from practicing the Saotome School of Anything goes anymore, and the attacks on her from her rivals had caused too much damage with her only allowed to use street fighting moves. Nabiki had helped greatly, finding a family who was willing to adopt a clanless ronin for just a small amount of money, but 'Ranko' didn't associate much with her new family, since they didn't want much to do with her. Her Fiancées had left, Most of them not even trying to deal with her curse. Well, Akane had tried… but the less said about that the better. Rolling over on her bed, Ranko let a tear fall from her eye. Would all of the crap start again now that she was going back? Would all the work she had done to rebuild a life be destroyed by the people in Nerima? Giving into the feelings that remembering 'That day' always evoked in her, she began to sob into her pillow.

HR

The next day, Ranko woke up early and began to get ready for work. Opening up her closet door, she picked out a clean uniform and slipped it on. The shirt was light blue, with her badge clipped to her right breast pocket. The pants were black, with a belt around her waist where her radio and sidearm hung. She was just thankful that the force had abolished those horrible skirts for female officers, after some female rights activists, including her, had complained. They made her look just a bit too girly for comfort.

Strangely, you'd think that ten years would change Ranko's perspective on femininity, but it hadn't. The girlier she looked, the more miserable she was, and she had quickly become dubbed, quite correctly, the aggressive lesbian tomboy by the males of her precinct. Of course, even if it was correct it irritated her and she was beginning to see why Akane had been so pissed off at her on such a regular basis. Straightening her light dress shirt, she holstered her sidearm, which took a LOT of testing and permits to get, and walked out of her apartment. It was centrally located in the city, near a monorail station, so she wouldn't have to move in order to work in Nerima. Starting to walk towards the station, she began to feel a sense of impending doom, but maybe it was just nerves.

HR

Later that morning, Kimiko looked at Ranko as she looked longingly back towards the monorail station. After the fifth time, she finally got fed up. "Ranko, what the hell's the matter. You got an old girlfriend around here or something?" She laughed, but stopped as she saw Ranko wince. "Oh, you do…" She said, letting it fall flat. She knew that Ranko liked women, and had in fact gone on a few dates with her, but she just couldn't get into it. In fact, she was now dating a guy from the Tomobiki force, even if his stories were a bit outrageous. "So, what was her name."

"Just drop it, Kimiko." Ranko said, irritatedly.

"Yikes, what's wrong with you today?" Kimiko said, sniffing softly and turning up her nose. The two women had met at the Nerima train station and were now proceeding into town to the police headquarters, and Ranko had been getting edgier and edgier as they went.

"I'm sorry Kimiko, but I just really don't like this place." Ranko said, shrugging. "We're almost there anyways, so it doesn't matter."

"Okay, if you say so." Kimiko replied, looking forward to see a sign for the Nerima District PD.

HR

Sergeant Aido Takada looked at the paper in his hands with a furrowed brow. "We're getting new officers." He said, unenthusiastically. Most of the new recruits in the Nerima department ended up leaving with nervous breakdowns after a few visits to the Tendo place or the Amazon Café. Hell, Most of them left and checked into the nearest psych ward for permanent stays. It was no secret that the Nerima/Juuban posting was hell on earth, but it appeared that two pieces of fresh meat had been thrown into the grinder. He really felt sorry for them, especially since they both looked so pretty. It was strange though, the one woman's picture looked strangely familiar. Shrugging it off, the sergeant put the files on the two women into a drawer as he heard a knock on his door. "Come in!" he called, putting his feet up.

The door opened, and two female officers wearing crisp new uniforms walked in. "Sato Ranko reporting for duty." One of them said, executing a short bow that seemed rather mannish.

"Najisa Kimiko." The other said, executing a more traditional woman bow.

"Ah, I was informed that you two were coming." Sergeant Aido said, leaning back in his chair.

Ranko raised an eyebrow. Most people would get up to greet new employees, but her new sergeant seemed perfectly content to sit there. "Um, sir. Where are our patrol assignments?" She asked, curiously.

"Sato-San, this is a small district, and Juuban's about the same size. We've only got about an eight man force including you. Just drive around for your shift and listen for dispatch."

"yes, sir." Ranko said, as the two walked out of the room. "Nice guy." She muttered, as the door closed behind her. Kimiko just laughed as the two headed for the garage to get a patrol car.

As the two entered the garage, they saw two more people getting into one of the three cars that was parked near the entrance. As one closed the door, he caught sight of the two and froze. He poked his partner in the shoulder and pointed franticly at Ranko.

"Oh great, here come the perverts." Ranko muttered. There was always at least one team of perverts in every force, it was a law. As the two approached Ranko and Kimiko, She realized that they were perverts, but not of the regular variety.

"Ranma, is that you?" Hiroshi said, as he stopped, looking in astonishment at the redhead.

Kimiko looked at Ranko in question. "Ranma?" She asked, looking between the two other officers, who seemed to think they knew her partner.

"I… Don't know who you're talking about." Ranko said, stiffly.

"Ranma, I know that's you." Daisuke said, certainly. "How did you get on the force, and where the hell have you been?"

"I don't know who this Ranma person is. My name's Sato Ranko. C'mon Kimiko. Let's get to work." Looking at her partner, she made a go signal with her hands and the two walked off.

Hiroshi looked at Daisuke and nodded. "That's definitely her." He said, adamantly.

"Yeh, but what happened to her?" Daisuke asked, as the two headed to their own patrol car.

END.


	2. Chapter 2

  
Chapter 2, Tense Reunions.

Ranko quickly shoved the clip of her seat belt into it's slot, starting the Nerima district police car and driving out of the parking garage. This car was larger than her old one, but thankfully the shot gun was clipped vertically to the passenger seat rather than laying next to the gearshift.

"So, what was THAT about?" Kimiko asked, as she leaned back in her seat, buckling her own belt.

"Nothing." Ranko snapped, as she turned onto Nerima's main shopping street.

Kimiko wanted to ask more, but she'd been working with Ranko for five years and knew when and when not to push. Driving down the street, she took the time to look around. Nerima was a small district, one of Japan's attempts to emulate the American suburbs. Even then, it was crammed full of small apartment blocks and houses but it was a lot more open than the centre of the city.

Ranko herself was looking around as well. 'How can everything look exactly the same?' She thought, as she drove past an iced cream vender that she'd scammed on many an occasion. It seemed like Nerima had been frozen in the early nineties, right when Ranma left. There weren't any fancy billboards or big outlet stores like in the rest of Tokyo, and if it weren't for the fact that the place contained so many bad memories, this assignment would be pleasant.

As their car turned a corner, Ranko tensed. This was the restaurant block, one of the few places she didn't want to be. As she drove down, Ranko began to fidget more and more obviously until she caught sight of a restaurant called "Ukchan's." She almost flinched, but kept going.

Kimiko noticed this reaction and became more and more curious. This was NOT the reaction of someone who was afraid of running into someone because it'd be socially awkward. Then again, Ranko wasn't talking. Maybe she should talk to those two police officers back at base?

Kimiko's thoughts were interrupted by the car's radio crackling. "This is dispatch. We got a call of an armed robbery attempt at the Neko Hanten. The perpetrator has been detained but police presence is needed, over."

Ranko contemplated not answering the radio, but that would be grounds for dismissal if anyone found out and Kimiko would wonder why they hadn't answered. With a sigh, she picked up the receiver. "This is car 2. We're on our way, over and out."

"you know where this Neko Hanten place is, Ranko?" Kimiko asked, curiously.

Ranko shrugged and pointed. When Kimiko followed her hand, she saw a restaurant with a sign on it's front reading "Neko Hanten."

"Well, I guess that works." She said, as the car came to a stop and she got out. Ranko got out as well, but looked uneasy.

"Kimiko, could you take the lead on this one?" Ranko asked, as she shut her door. She trusted her partner to handle the situation, as she had done many times before. Although not up to her level, which she had started to hold back to about a quarter of it's full strength after Nerima, to avoid hurting weaker opponents, Kimiko was still a respectable fighter, and more importantly, a crack shot.

The other woman nodded, looking slightly confused but walking into the restaurant ahead of Ranko. Usually, the redhead liked leading on patrols, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

HR

In the Neko Hanten, Shampoo bussed tables as she looked over her shoulder to see a wide eyed young man who was pinned to a wall by two daggers stuck through the cloth at his shoulders. She really wished that Mousse hadn't done that, since it got strange questions from the police, but the stupid thief deserved it. There had been a rash of burglaries and robberies in the area recently, and the man seemed to want to capitalize on the work of a more experienced thief. As she looked with disgust at the hanging man, Shampoo heard the tinkling of the Neko Hanten's front door opening.

"Hello, I'm officer Najisa of the Nerima PD. You have something for us?" A woman asked, as she walked into the room.

"Yes, He's over there." Shampoo said, shortly. Her Japanese had improved over the last ten years, as she had realized that she wasn't going back to China. It was all, of course, thanks to the horrible mistake she had made ten years ago at the Tendo Saotome wedding. Shaking her head from those thoughts, She noticed a second police officer walking in behind the first and stationing herself by the door. She ignored her at first, looking at the woman who was studying the knives that held the criminal.

"Who did this?" Kimiko asked, fingering one of the blades.

"That was Mousse. He thought it would be the easiest way to keep him from running away." Shampoo explained, shrugging. "I can get him down if you'd like."

Kimiko nodded. "That would be nice, and can I talk to this... Mousse?' She said the last word as if she was unsure that she was really saying it correctly.

"I'll go get him." Shampoo said, as she left the room.

As the purple haired woman left the room, Kimiko looked to her partner, who had remained silent and inconspicuous in the corner. "Strange hair die." She commented, idly.

"It's not died." Ranko replied, before realizing what she had said and clamping her mouth shut. With all of the times that Shampoo had snuck into her bath, she knew that purple was her natural hair colour. For some reason, seeing the Amazon girl didn't make her nearly as angry as she thought it would. After all, she HAD been the one who locked her curse, but she knew that Shampoo hadn't known the kettle had been destroyed when she had done it.

"Oh, and how would you know?" Kimiko asked, curiously. Then a wicked smile spread across her face. "So, is this the old girlfriend?"

"Shut up, Kimiko." Ranko said, levelly.

About thirty seconds later, Shampoo re-entered the room with Mousse close behind. The duck cursed boy stopped in his tracks as he sensed something in the air. Even though shampoo had become out of practice in Japan, he had kept in shape through training with Ryoga and Konatsu, so he could still read Chi auras and often used them in stead of sight. Running rapidly towards the door, He growled. "Saotome?"

Shampoo looked startled before glancing at the police officer who was standing at the door. Yes, it was Ranma. "Ranma, is that you?" She asked, unsteadily.

"For getting us thrown out of the tribe, prepare to die!" Mousse yelled, as he charged the redhead. He was stopped cold in his tracks as he saw her hand flash down to her belt and remove something, aiming it at him and yelling "Stop!"

Mousse gaped as he looked at the small black pistol that was held in Ranma's hands, aimed straight between his eyes.

"I don't know why you tried to attack me, but if you do it again I will have you charged with assaulting a police officer. Now stand down!" Ranko growled, as she held her gun in rock steady hands. It was a glock 19 pistol, a weapon that the Japanese police forces had only started carrying a few months ago, when the old miroku .38 specials started getting too high maintenance. When she saw that Mousse had put away the small arm scythes that he had pulled out when he first saw her, Ranko slid her gun back into the holster.

Kimiko looked between Ranko and Mousse, blinking stupidly. Finally snapping out of her shock, she pointed at the man who Shampoo had just cut off of the wall. "So, should we book this guy or what?"

Ranko laughed softly as she shook her head. Only her partner could act like that after seeing someone pull weapons out of thin air. "Yeh, let's get going."

As the two began to lead their catch to the car, Ranko was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw the face of Shampoo staring at her.

"Ranma, is that really you?" shampoo asked, looking both happy and apprehensive at the same time.

"Sorry, I don't know any Ranma." Ranko said, shrugging out of Shampoo's grip. The Amazon shook her head and turned away, tears glimmering in her eyes. She didn't know that Ranko had one or two in her own that she quickly concealed.

HR

After getting back into their police car, with the criminal secure in the back seat, Ranko started it up and began to head back to the Nerima police department.

"So, you wanna tell me what that was all about?" Kimiko asked, as she leaned back in her chair and fingered a dagger that she had kept as evidence from the crime scene. Although it was in a plastic bag, she could still feel it's sharp edge. It was kind of freaky, actually.

"That was about nothing." Ranko said, as she turned onto the main street.

"So you don't know anything about any Ranma Saotome?" Kimiko asked, sceptically. "I mean, four people have mistaken you for her." Then, she went into a false conspiratorial voice. "I think you're hiding something."

"Look, Kimiko. You ain't gunna drop this, are you?" Ranko asked, frustrated.

"Nope." Kimiko said, smugly. Hopefully, this would be when Ranko would tell her what was going on.

"Well, that's really too bad because I'm not telling you anything." Ranko said, shutting down Kimiko's hopes for an easy solution.

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, until they came to the Nerima Police department and stopped the car, unloading the prisoner and taking him to a holding cell.

HR

Ranko stood on the roof top of her apartment building, running through Kata as hard and fast as she could manage. This was still remarkably fast, and would leave Kimiko, or anyone else who had worked with her, gaping in stupefied shock. That was, of course, why she never used her full power in fights, and why she hadn't really advanced far in her martial arts since she left Nerima. Oh, she could beat any normal martial artist with ease, even holding back, but she was worried about what Nerima held for her. Had Ryoga, Mousse and all the rest trained for the entire time that she was gone? Would she come back to find them heads and shoulders above her? This bothered her a great deal, and she was having trouble concentrating due to it.

As she fumbled a punch, Ranko shook her head. She had to get her mind off of Nerima, but that was getting hard now. She had already run into the Amazons, Hiroshi and Daisuke. How long before she ends up with everyone after her again?

One thing that puzzled her was Mousse's comment about her making it so that they could never return to the village. She knew that Shampoo had been dishonoured by failing to bring home her husband, but was it that bad? With a shrug, she decided that it didn't really matter. Even if she wasn't particularly angry at Shampoo for what she had done, it somehow seemed appropriate that she ended up cast out of the tribe as punishment for it.

Sighing in frustration, Ranko stopped her Kata and shook her head. She was too worried about Nerima to really do anything useful. Walking to the door that was set into the roof, she opened it and headed down to her apartment.

HR

Meanwhile, in the small district of Juuban, a young girl was walking down the street. She'd been forced to stay after school because of an incident involving a spit ball and the teacher's head, and now she was heading home. She just knew that her parents were going to flip out about this and she would have to listen to another lecture about how they never did things like that in their day.

Sniffing in disgust, the girl turned down an alley as a short cut to get home. A few moments later, a shrill scream was heard and there was a massive flash of light, before everything went silent.

END.

The Amazons WILL be explained in more detail later, when Ranko comes clean to Kimiko, as it were.

Sorry this is about 300 words shorter than my usual, but if I put anymore in here it'd seem like I was pushing the plot along, at least to me.


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of a dead body. I think they're vague enough for a T rating, but I figured I should warn you.

Chapter 3. Kuno and dead bodies. Too bad they couldn't be in the same sentence more often...

Kimiko sat in front of a computer in the Police department main office and accessed a personnel file that she'd seen many times before. It was that of her partner, Sato Ranko. Of course, now she was looking over it for a different reason. Scanning over Ranko's personal information, Kimiko noticed a strange pattern that she had never picked up before. All of her medical and school records were dated after her eighteenth birthday. Of course, a police file only had basic stuff like allergies or fears, but Kimiko had seen Ranko's aluraphobia, and she knew that it had to have been there since a time before the other woman was eighteen.

Pulling up another browser screen, Kimiko typed the name "Ranma Saotome" into a search engine and waited for results. Half an hour later, she rubbed her eyes, annoyed. The only thing relating to Ranma Saotome she had found was that it was an alias for a criminal by the name of Genma Saotome, who definitely looked nothing like Ranko. Deciding that she wasn't getting very far on her own, Kimiko shut down the computer and walked out of the cubicle to find Ranko standing there.

"Hi Kimiko, what's going on?" Ranko asked, as she casually leaned against a wall.

"I was just checking some stuff." Kimiko said, deciding not to ask Ranko about her past again. This sudden secrecy from her partner really bothered her. The two had been working together for a long time, and Ranko hadn't seemed like she was keeping something away from her until the last day. Judging from Ranko's reaction, it was a big secret, too.

"Oh, okay." Ranko said, as she stood from her leaning position and headed for the station's cafeteria. "Let's go get some breakfast, okay? They could have some chocolate doughnuts."

Kimiko chuckled in spite of her worries. If there was one thing that never changed about her partner, it was her love of sweets.

HR

That afternoon, Hiroshi and Daisuke sat on a bench in the police station lobby, tossing a ball back and forth. Honestly, the two men were really that bored. They both agreed that being that bored was a good thing, since they didn't have any criminals to worry about, but it was still… well… boring!

As Daisuke caught the ball with two fingers, He saw the front door to the station open and two women walk in. One of them was the new brunette and the other was someone who he insisted was Ranma. The brunette talked to the redhead for a moment, and the latter walked deeper into the building holding what looked like a wooden sword. The brunette, however, turned towards them and started walking.

Kimiko strode towards the two officers that had recognised Ranko as 'Ranma,' determined to get some answers. Today had been as strange in some ways as yesterday, like that insane sword swinging guy.

/Flashback\

Ranko and Kimiko were in the latter part of the morning shift, driving down the street near Furinkan high, when the radio in the car crackled. "This is dispatch. Kuno's loose at the school again." Came the call, which Ranko seemed to twitch at. She reached to the radio, and then pulled back her hand and shook her head.

"Aren't we going to respond? We're right near there." Kimiko said, looking strangely at Ranko.

Ranko sighed and picked up the radio. "This is car two. What's this about 'Kuno' being on the loose again?" She tried to sound like she didn't know what was going on, but Kimiko could hear the resignation in her voice.

"Kuno's a rather eccentric rich man. He runs around swinging a wooden sword at Furinkan high all the time." The dispatcher said, recognising that she was dealing with a new officer. "Be careful, the wooden sword is dangerous."

"So, we're supposed to arrest him?" Ranko asked, seeming to like that idea.

"No, his lawyers can get him out within an hour or so anyways. Just get rid of the stick and send him home." Dispatch said, before Ranko acknowledged and clicked the radio off.

A few minutes later, The white Tokyo police car pulled up near a school, where a tall man with a blue Kendo Gi and Hakama stood holding a Bokken. He kept swinging it around, not at anyone in particular but just in the air, yelling something.

As Kimiko exited the car, she started to listen to the tall man's rants. "Akane Tendo, come and fight me damn you! You shall be mine! I have defeated that scoundrel Saotome, so come to me!"

Carefully, Ranko and Kimiko approached the obviously unhinged Kendoist, placing their hands on the butts of their guns, in case he tried anything that was dangerous to civilians. "Sir, please drop the Bokken." Ranko said, slowly.

The Kendoist suddenly seemed to take notice of the two police women and stopped swinging randomly. "Officers? Why do you stop me from calling my challenge?" He asked, curiously.

"Because it's endangering bystanders, idiot." Kimiko muttered, but the man heard it.

"I have not endangered anyone! Now leave me to my work!" He snapped, holding his Bokken up again.

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm gunna have to ask you to drop the Bokken again." Ranko said, slowly edging towards Kuno.

That's when the insane Kendoist caught sight of Ranko's face. His Bokken clattered to the ground, quickly snatched by Kimiko, and he ran at Ranko. "Pigtailed girl!" he yelled, As Ranko whipped a hand down to the left side of her belt, drawing her folding baton and rapping it across his knees.

Kuno fell to the ground, clutching the part of his leg that had been hit and yelling in pain.

"Was that necessary?" Kimiko asked, looking at the writhing Kendoist.

"Yes, yes it was." Ranko responded, flatly.

/End Flashback./

Then again, if he was after Ranko at all, maybe that explained why she liked girls. He was just plain creepy.

Walking up to the two other officers, Kimiko intercepted the ball they had been playing catch with and sat down next to them, starting to question them as if they were witnesses at an imperial assassination attempt.

Five minutes later, Kimiko didn't know weather to laugh or tear her hair out. This entire ward was made up of insane people, or she had to expand her worldview a lot. The story the two other officers had told was quite fantastic. Ranma had been a friend of theirs, a MALE friend with a curse that turned him into a girl who looked exactly like Ranko. Even with Ranko's rather masculine mannerisms, the thought of her having a curse that turned her into a guy was completely stupid. Even with this, the fact remained, why was Ranko so nervous about being in Nerima?

Getting up and walking away from the two clearly unhinged police men, Kimiko went looking for her partner, who was probably in the evidence room. She would have to give up her little 'investigation' until she found some more information than a magical curse.

HR

In the evidence room, Ranko slid the wooden Bokken into a drawer and locked it, shaking her head. The Amazons had seemed at least all right, but from some witness reports she had had to take, Kuno did things like this on a regular basis. Apparently, the loss of the foul sorcerer must have driven him over the edge. With a snicker, she closed the door and started walking down the hall, meeting up with Kimiko on the way. As the two women were about to head out the door to go home, Sergeant Aido called for them to stop and signalled them to come into his office.

Kimiko looked at Ranko, and shrugged. Ranko seemed to smile slightly. As the two entered the sergeant's office, they noticed that he had somehow managed to get back behind his desk and into a reclining position before they made it to the door. 'Martial arts laziness?' Ranko thought, with a small laugh.

"Hello you two." Sergeant Aido said, as he leaned even further back. Kimiko privately wondered how the heck he didn't tip over on his back. "I heard of how you dealt with Kuno and the Amazons in the last two days."

"Yes, sir." Ranko said, shrugging. "They were certainly strange."

"Strange, she says. Those people alone have driven many officers insane, Sato. I heard of how you took care of Kuno, with a baton to the knees…"

"So are you going to re-assign us or something?" Ranko asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"No, of course not! It usually takes officers a few months to figure out that you hit Kuno first and don't ask questions. I'm liking the progress you two are making, and would just like to tell you to keep up the good work!" The sergeant said, smiling broadly.

"Oh…" Ranko and Kimiko said, looking at their superior as if he had grown a second head.

"You're dismissed." The sergeant said, gesturing to the door.

The two officers bowed before leaving the room. As the door shut, Kimiko looked at Ranko. "Are we in that gaijin Television show, the Twilight zone, or something?"

"Pretty close, I think." Ranko said, as the two exited the station, this time un-interrupted.

(Three days later.)

Ranko and Kimiko were driving through Juuban, having mutually decided to avoid Nerima for a while after the incident with the insane swordsman. Nothing strange had happened in the last few days to get Kimiko bugging Ranko about Ranma Saotome again, so the atmosphere between the two partners wasn't tense.

As the car headed down Juuban's main shopping street, the radio crackled and the dispatcher came on. "We've got an incoherent caller who's saying something about a dead body in the Juuban area. Could the closest car please respond?"

For once, Ranko didn't hesitate when she grabbed the radio. "Do you have the address?" She asked, quickly.

After the dispatcher had given them the address, Ranko and Kimiko headed off to find the place. When they arrived, they saw a tall saleryman ringing his hands and pacing back and forth, nervously. "Oh, thank Kami you're here. Follow me, please." He said, as the two officers stepped out of the car.

"Sir, can you tell us what's wrong?" Ranko asked, as the man tried to drag her along.

"I found her… she's so burnt up, just please come help her." The man babbled, his face was a combination of white and green.

Ranko just nodded, as she was dragged into a nearby alley, followed by Kimiko. The two stopped cold as they saw what the man had been talking about. There, in the middle of the alley, was the body of a girl. Ranko shook her head as she saw her, literally covered in small surface burns and in the early stages of decomposition. It was lucky for her that she had been at a few deaths in her career, or this would have seriously thrown her off.

"Kimiko, can you radio this in?" Ranko asked, as she turned to the saleryman.

Kimiko nodded, quickly going back to the car.

"How did you find her?" Ranko asked, as she pulled a notepad from her belt.

"I, I was looking for her." The man stuttered, nervously. "She disappeared a few days ago, and we were worried."

"Your relation to her?" Ranko continued, but she was beginning to get the idea.

"I'm her father." The man said, before breaking down in tears.

Ranko shook her head. She really did have sympathy for this guy, but she needed her questions answered. "Sir, I'm gunna have to ask you to calm down. Just for a while, okay?" She said, in as calming a voice as she could manage. "You just need to answer a few more questions."

The man nodded, And Ranko began to question him about when, in what position and how he had found the body.

About a half an hour later, Ranko and Kimiko stood in front of a line of police tape, turning away anxious and curious civilians. The CSI team had arrived a few minutes ago, and had thankfully taken most of the load off of the two investigating officers. Luckily, Hiroshi, Daisuke and the other two cars of the department's dayshift had also come to help contain the situation, since deaths that looked like homicide didn't happen very often in Tokyo, and a girl who was burnt to a crisp was definitely homicide. As Ranko looked on, the paramedics, who seemed like a rather sick joke in the situation, loaded the girl's body onto a stretcher and took her through the lines, loading her into an ambulance. Looking at the passing body, Ranko had to wonder who could be sick enough to do what had been done.

Notes.

I know it seems like Ranko's over-reacting, but this person looks kinda like that guy in "The wax house" who had the wax peeled off his face, but in blotches in stead of all over.

I think that I named the sergeant love path by accident… well, that'll teach me for randomly making up Japanese names, ne?


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about no chapter yesterday. Revised chapters 2 and 3 to get rid of a problem that I didn't really care about but that no one would stop nagging about. Ranma just holds back, and hasn't gotten any better than her former levels. Now, I kinda miss the days when I was an insignificant n00B who no one minded making stupid mistakes. Alas, those days are behind me. Anywho, enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 4.

The day after they had found the body in the alley, Kimiko was staring out the front window of the police station in quiet bemusement. It wasn't, however, related to the girl that they had found. True, she felt regret at the death, but it was in the hands of the CSI teams now so she couldn't do anything about it. What she was bemused about was a scene that was quickly developing in front of the station. "Ranko, you should see this!" Kimiko yelled, looking back to the door that lead into the main lobby, where Ranko was leaning and drinking an early cup of coffee.

"What's up, Kimiko?" Ranko asked, as she walked up to the brunette and looked out the window next to her. That's when she choked on her coffee and began sputtering. "What the heck is he doing here?"

In front of the two stunned police officers, behind a layer of one way tinted glass, Tatwaki Kuno was standing on the sidewalk, striking a heroic pose with a sign sitting next to him that said "Give me the pigtailed girl or give me death!"

"Is this guy for real?" Kimiko asked, as she looked over at Ranko.

"Can I please give him death?" Ranko asked, hopefully, before sighing. "I guess we should leave him alone for now. He's not doing anything illegal. C'mon. We gotta get going."

Kimiko nodded, and followed Ranko as she proceeded to the police station's garage. After the two got into their patrol car, Ranko starting the motor, they drove out and were immediately stopped by Kuno, who had run over to the garage entrance and was now standing in front of them, his arms spread wide. Ranko shook her head, as she unclipped her seatbelt and got out of the car. "Mr. Kuno, please move." She said, flatly.

"Ah, the beautiful pigtailed girl. How I have longed to see you for these long years of our separation." Kuno said, not noticing the fact that Ranko and her partner, who was still in the car, were both glaring at him.

"Mr. Kuno, you're hindering my ability to do my job. I'm afraid I'm gunna have to ask you to move." Ranko said, knowing that it would be useless to try and reason with the Kendoist, but also knowing that she was currently in the middle of her car's dash cam and just hitting him without warning could get her in trouble.

"Ah, but surely you wish to see the magnificent manliness of the Blue thunder of Kuno investment Corp, and do not mind being interrupted. Now come into my arms, pigtailed girl!" Kuno said, as he tried to glomp Ranko. That was what she was waiting for, as she grabbed him by the arm and flipped him, sending him into a wall with just a touch of her Chi enhancing the blow.

"That... hurt, you know." Kuno croaked, before falling unconscious. With a satisfied sigh, Ranko turned and got back into the patrol car, noticing Kimiko gaping wide-eyed at her.

"What is it?" Ranko asked, as she buckled her belt again.

"I know he's annoying, but that could have killed him." Kimiko said, looking at the crumpled body of Kuno.

"Nah, he was up from my baton strike yesterday before we got out of the area. He'll be fine." Ranko said, shifting into gear and driving out of the station parking ramp. Kimiko looked back at the crumpled wreck, noticing that it was twitching periodically, before shrugging and taking Ranko's word for it.

HR

Later that day, near the end of Ranko and Kimiko's shift, the two were driving slowly down the streets of Juuban once again. They were more watchful now, since the force had been upgraded to a higher alert status after the incident yesterday, but they both agreed that staying in Juuban would be the best thing to do.

As they went, Ranko looked down at her wrist and smiled. "3:30, shift's almost over." She said, off hand.

"Yeh." Kimiko said, but seemed to be distracted by something.

"Kimiko, what's wrong?" Ranko asked, as she looked over at her partner.

"Does something seem strange about that kid?" Kimiko asked, as she pointed to a spot on the sidewalk. As Ranko looked as well, she saw a young girl, about seven or eight years old and carrying a small box in front of her. She had black hair, and wore a smaller version of the Furinkan high uniform. As she walked, she hit the box in her right hand with the palm of her left, and her face creased in worry.

"Well, she is wandering pretty far from a school, and they were just dismissed a few minutes ago." Ranko commented, as she slid the car to a stop. "And I think I recognise the uniform as being from the Primary school in Nerima. Let's go see if there's something wrong."

HR

The girl tapped the side of her box, now looking seriously frightened. She couldn't get home without her pathfinder, and it wasn't showing anything but a "Low battery" message. As she looked up from the small device, she saw two people in uniforms walking up to her. She recognised them as police, and she got a relieved look on her face. Dropping her pathfinder into her pocket, she ran up to one, the short one with red hair, and spoke. ""Excuse me Ma'am, can you tell me how to get home?"

Ranko hunkered down in front of the little girl and smiled at her. "So, you're lost?" She asked, concerned.

"Yeh, and my map won't work." The girl explained, showing her pathfinder GPS unit. "Can you please help me?"

Kimiko raised an eyebrow as she saw the GPS. She had to wonder what a little kid was doing with such a piece of hardware, but dismissed the thought as she looked like she was about to break into tears. To Kimiko's surprise, Miss Macho herself, Ranko Sato, seemed to realize the little girl's distress and gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.

"Don't worry kid, we'll get you home." Ranko said, as she lead the little girl back to the car.

In a nearby alley, a set of red eyes narrowed in anger. That one had taken it's pray, and it recognised her. With a soft growl of anger, the creature with the red eyes disappeared into the shadows. It would not get a meal this day, it knew.

Unknowing of her close call with something evil, The little girl sat in the police car, holding Ranko's hand tightly and looking around in aw. "This thing is so neat!" She said, excitedly.

Ranko looked at Kimiko, who was still standing outside the car, and slid over into the passenger seat. "Kimiko, I think you'd better drive. She doesn't seem to want to let go of my hand."

The other woman smiled as she got into the driver's seat, but then looked perplexed. "Um, Ranko... where are we going?"

"Oh, right." Ranko said, slapping her forehead with her free hand. "Can you tell me your name and where you live?"

The little girl nodded happily. "I'm Umiko Hibiki and I live at the Tendo Dojo, in Nerima."

Unnoticed to Umiko, Ranko's face developed a bit of a wince. Kimiko noticed however, and wondered what was wrong. "Do you know where that is, Ranko?" she asked, uncertainly.

"yeh, drive four blocks and take a left." Ranko said, starting to feel a sense of impending doom.

HR

About fifteen minutes later, Ranko and Kimiko's car pulled up at the front gates of the Tendo Dojo. "Well, looks like we got you here, so you can go now." Ranko said, nervously.

"Come with me Ranko san!" Umiko said, excitedly. "Meet aunty Kasumi and Aunty Nabiki, please?"

"I don't think that'd be a good idea." Ranko said, reluctantly.

"Pleeeeaaase?" Umiko said, begging.

"I really don't think..." Ranko said, before Kimiko interrupted.

"C'mon Ranko, it's not going to kill us, and besides, the shift's already over so we don't have to worry about wasting department time." She said, as she turned off the engine.

"All right, fine." Ranko said, as Umiko let off a yell of joy. Stepping out of the car, Ranko helped Umiko out as well and the three walked through the front gates to the front door. Carefully, Ranko raised a hand and knocked on it.

A few seconds later, A woman with long brown hair tied into a ponytail, flipped over her right shoulder, opened the door. The first person she saw was Umiko, who was in between the other two.

"Oh, Umi-Chan, we've been so worried about you!" Kasumi Tendo said, as she bent down to the young girl.

"I'm all right, Kas-Chan. These two nice policemen helped me." Umiko said, happily, pointing at Ranko and Kimiko. Kimiko had to snicker at being called a "Policeman" but Ranko didn't even notice.

"Oh My, I didn't see you two there..." Kasumi said, and trailed off as she caught sight of one of the two. "Ranma san! It's been a long time. Please come in for some tea!"

Ranko stiffened for a moment, but saw Kasumi's angelic smile aimed at her and couldn't help but smile herself. "Kasumi, my name's Ranko, Remember?"

"Oh, right. I forgot. Come in though, please?" Kasumi said, as Umiko ran into the house. Ranko nodded, and she entered the house, followed closely by a really curious Kimiko.

As the two entered the Tendo Dojo, Ranko couldn't help but notice many differences. There were pictures on the walls along the front hallway, but in stead of being photos of Soun and his late wife, they were of Akane and... was that Ryoga? That's when everything clicked in Ranko's mind. She had had all of the information before, but she needed a confirmation. "Kasumi, is Umiko Akane's daughter?"

"Why yes, she is." Kasumi said, before realizing who she was talking to and wincing. "I'm sorry to tell you that, Ranko san."

"It's, it's all right Kasumi." Ranko said, repressing the urge to ball like a small child. It wasn't exactly very suitable to her image as the world's biggest tomboy, and she had to expect Akane to move on after she'd left, but it was still hard to hear.

As the small group entered the living room, Kimiko noticed a woman in a leisure suit, sitting on the couch and tapping away at a laptop. She looked up as the group entered the room, and a flash of surprise came across her face as she saw Ranko and Kimiko.

"Ranko, is that you?" She asked, having been the one to help Ranko get used to responding to that name and having no trouble remembering it.

"Yeh, Hi nabs." Ranko said, as she pointed from Nabiki to Kimiko. "Kimiko here's my partner, and this is Nabiki Tendo, mercenary extraordinaire."

Nabiki laughed. "Oh Sato, you were always such a flatterer." She said, as she shut the lid of her laptop. Kasumi had long since floated into the kitchen to start making tea and Umiko was happily playing with something on the floor, so she was the only one to really talk to.

"So what have you been up to, Nabiki?" Ranko asked, as she knelt at the living room table.

"Oh, things." The middle Tendo said, with an enigmatic smile. "So, you managed to become a cop, eh? I was really surprised, with your really bad school records and everything."

Ranko shrugged. "Yeh, college was fun." She said, sarcastically.

Kimiko just observed the interaction of the people around her, getting more and more confused but holding her tongue.

"So, where're Akane and Ryoga?" Ranko asked, seeming not to really want to know the answer.

Nabiki sighed. "They're lost, again." Seeing the question in Ranko's eyes, she explained. "It seems the Hibiki family curse is transferred to the spouse when you get married. Akane hasn't been able to tell the back door from a closet door for the past eight years."

Ranko winced at the word "Married," but shook it off. "Kimiko, I think we should get going." She said, curtly.

"But that other woman was going to get us tea." Kimiko said, worried about offending the lady of the house, especially if she was ever to deal with the family again.

"Don't worry about Kasumi, she won't mind." Ranko said, as she got up. As the two were leaving, Nabiki looked at Ranko. "Sato, don't go missing for another ten years all right?"

Ranko just grunted non-committally before the two officers left.

HR

"So what the hell was that about?" Kimiko snapped, as they settled into their car.

"Remember how you guessed I had an old girlfriend around here a while ago?" Ranko asked, as she jerked the car into gear. Seeing Kimiko's nod, she continued. "Well she's the mother of the kid we just returned home."

Kimiko made a soft hissing sound. "That's gotta hurt." She said, reverently.

"Yeh, it does." Ranko said, as she proceeded to drive more aggressively than normal on her way back to the station. After returning there, Kimiko saw that Ranko had grabbed an extra clip of bullets for her side arm and disappeared into the shooting range. She wisely kept her distance.

END. 


	5. Chapter 5

This is all MattCauthon1's fault. For good or Ill, this is HIS fault!!! 

Okay, the events in the chapter aren't his fault, but anyways.

And this, my friends, is the chapter in which Ranko's re-introduction to Nerima hits it's lowest point, and the poor girl snaps… big time. I'm not good at emotional scenes, so forgive the bad quality. All comments are accepted. Here we go!

Chapter 5, The straw that broke Ranko's back.

Ranko rolled over and put her pillow over her ears as the annoying ringing sound continued in her ears. It wasn't her alarm clock, so it was safely ignorable. It was, however, incredibly annoying and she eventually relented, rolling over and discarding the pillow in order to pick up the small handset by her bed.

"Hello?" She said groggily, waiting for a response.

"R, Ranko is that you?" Said a voice from the other end, clearly upset.

"Yeah, does anyone else live here?" Ranko snapped, annoyed. This was, after all, her only day off, and therefore the only day when she got to sleep in.

"I need to talk. Can we meet at the bar?" Came the voice, now sniffling.

"Kimiko, if this is another one of those rants of yours I'm gunna kill you." Ranko muttered, finally managing to clear away enough sleep fog to identify her partner on the other end of the phone line. Periodically, when the other woman's love life went disastrously awry in some way, which it did surprisingly often, she would call up Ranko for a (non)sympathetic ear.

"Please Ranko, I really need some help here." Kimiko said, rather pathetically. "Besides, you're my best friend."

"Since when has being partners at work made us best friends?" Ranko asked, just wanting to go back to sleep. Sighing, she agreed. "Fine, I'll be at the bar in half an our, and YOU are paying for my drink, got it?"

"Thanks Ranko." Kimiko said, gratefully, before hanging up. Ranko sighed in annoyance as she struggled out of bed and to her feet, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and casting an eye over her dirty apartment. Truthfully, she was going to clean the place up today. Of course getting to avoid that little chore was one advantage of consoling her over-emotional friend.

Rummaging around in her closet for something clean to wear, other than a uniform, All Ranko could find were her few blouses and skirts, yet another result of her friend's tampering. Truthfully, if it weren't for Kimiko dragging her out almost kicking and screaming every weekend she wouldn't even leave her house other than for work or groceries, so of course the only times she had gone clothes shopping were with the other woman, and therefore, for women's clothes. Putting on one of the distasteful garments, a green blouse and red, knee length skirt, Ranko surveyed herself in a mirror, declared it good enough, and headed out.

HR

Later that day, Ranko was wishing she'd just slept through this Saturday. Leaning on her hand and listening to Kimiko's story, she sipped casually from her glass of pop. "I told ya that guy was bad news." She contributed, after Kimiko's last rant about her boyfriend, Ataru, had finished. "I mean he did start ogling me the second he saw me for the first time."

"I know you did, but he seemed so charming." Kimiko said, sipping at her can of Yebisu. "I guess it's true, all guys are jerks."

Ranko twitched. "That's not really true…" She started, feeling as though she had just been indirectly insulted.

"It isn't?" Kimiko asked, as she slammed her can down on the table. It rested neatly next to the six other cans she had drunk this hour. "Bartender, Gimme another." She demanded, turning to the man behind the bar.

While she did this, Ranko gave a frantic cut off signal behind her, and the bartender caught it from much experience. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but I think you've had enough." He said, taking the cans away.

"See what I mean? All men are jerks!" Kimiko said, turning back to Ranko angrily.

Ranko just shrugged. She wasn't about to tell Kimiko that she was the one who had cut her off, and was infinitely grateful that the two of them had moved to a bar that served non-alcoholic drinks. The last time this scenario had occurred in a bar with only Alcoholic drinks was the one and only time Kimiko had explored the idea of being with a girl, and Ranko had been too drunk, not much with her low tolerance for liquor of any sort, to think it was a bad idea. "How about you just order another kind of drink." She suggested, tentatively.

Kimiko sighed, and nodded. "Gimme some o what she's havin." She said, morosely.

Ranko sighed in relief. Her partner didn't get drunk often, mostly when her newest relationship went south, but it was a very nerve wracking experience whenever it happened. A moment after her relieved sigh past her lips, she heard the front door of the bar opening, and a rain soaked man entered.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite arm wrestling cop." The man said, as he walked over to Ranko and Kimiko. "You up for another match?"

"That depends, Balli. Do you wanna pay for one of Kimiko's bar tabs? And I thought I told you not to call me that, besides I thought you said you used to be a cop in America." Ranko asked, with a smirk.

The rain soaked man, who looked to be in his late forties and wore a close cropped brown beard, shook his head. "Nah, last time I put up a bet like that I lost six thousand yen!"

"Smart man." Ranko said, as Balli slid up to the bar next to her.

"Well, Okay. Balli's an exception." Kimiko declared, draping one of her arms around Balli's shoulders.

"An exception to what?" Balli asked, looking confused.

"Oh, she insists that all guys are jerks. Another relationship disaster." Ranko grumbled, taking another pull on the straw in her pop.

"That Ataru guy did rub me the wrong way." Balli said, contemplatively.

"Will you two stop saying "I told you so?" You aren't very good at this consolation thing at all, are you?" Kimiko grumbled, as she received a glass of chilled juice, and Balli got some American beer called 'Molson's.'

"Ya wanna give me some of that?" Kimiko asked, looking covetously at Balli's drink.

"I don't think so." Balli said, moving his drink away from the drunken girl. Kimiko just pouted before returning to her drink. "So what did he do?" Balli asked, out of the blue.

"She caught him kissing this girl in a tiger striped Bikini." Ranko explained, before Kimiko could go off on another rant.

"Ah, I see." Balli said, before continuing. "I heard there was a murder in Juuban last week."

"Yeah. Didn't think the press published that." Ranko responded, her eyes narrowing. "How'd you know about it?"

"Oh, I've got a computer hacker friend." Balli said, innocently.

"So you're here, telling a police officer that you know a computer hacker that illegally entered police records." Ranko said, incredulously.

Balli smiled. "Pretty much."

"I was here getting drunk with Kimiko, and forgot about that tomorrow." Ranko grumbled, glaring at Balli. "Now do you know something or are you just being irritating?"

"I'm just being irritating." Balli responded, evenly.

"Damn…" Ranko muttered, before looking down at her watch. "It's getting kinda late." She said, noticing that it was about 9:30.

"Yeah, because you wouldn't answer your phone until noon." Kimiko grumbled, sourly.

"If you wanna sleep off the hang over you're going to get, I think we should get going." Ranko said.

Reluctantly, Kimiko nodded, and the two got up, Ranko having to steady her friend.

HR

As Ranko walked to Kimiko's apartment, the other girl slung over one shoulder, Kimiko spoke. "I'm sorry about this, Ranko." She said, marveling at the fact that she was being carried over the shorter woman's shoulder, but her feet weren't touching the ground.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Ranko said, as she tried to remember where Kimiko's place was in the dark. "You keep me from killing idiotic suspects by day, I carry you home from bars by night… Sounds like a fair trade to me."

"Thanks, I think." Kimiko said, uncertainly.

As the two continued, Ranko began to feel a strange tingle down her spine. It felt as if she was being watched. Stopping and turning, she scanned the night around her but found nothing.

"What's wrong?" Kimiko asked, getting a little dizzy from all of the turning around.

"It's nothing." Ranko said, continuing on her way.

"Well, next time nothing happens let me off. It's not a fun ride." Kimiko muttered. Ranko sighed.

HR

The next day, Kimiko was holding a bag of ice to her forehead while Ranko backed the car out of the station's lot. Fortunately for both of their sanity, Tatewaki Kuno was nowhere to be seen. "I'm pretty sure that only works for physical blows." Ranko said, uncertainly.

Kimiko nodded slowly. "Yeah, so it should help the sledgehammer in there, right?"

Ranko sighed and shook her head, putting the car into first gear and proceeding down the street. Within a few seconds, the radio crackled to life and the dispatcher came over it. "Okay, we've got a report of a break in over at old Mrs. Takahashi's place. Looks like either car 2 or 5 can take it."

Kimiko shook her head, but Ranko grinned. "We've got it. Where is the place?" She asked. After the dispatcher gave her the address, Kimiko looked at her accusingly. "Just a bit of punishment for makin me carry you home last night." Ranko snickered, heading for Mrs. Takahashi's place. Come to think of it, she remembered that name from somewhere.

HR

As Ranko looked at the little grey haired woman in front of her, she began having flashbacks to the same woman throwing what must have amounted to a couple gallons of water at her over the years. "So that's where I remember the name from..." She muttered.

"Huh?" Kimiko asked, looking at Ranko questioningly.

Ranko shook her head. "Nothing." She said, before proceeding into the house. "I'll leave the questioning up to you and take a look around."

Kimiko glared at her partner for a moment before re-arranging her features and looking at the old woman. "So can you tell me what was taken?" She asked, as she pulled a pad of paper from her belt.

"Oh, yes. He got my television, oh, and my collection." The woman said, pointing to two places where items were missing.

"Your collection?" Kimiko asked, curiously.

"Oh yes, I collect figurines." The woman said, showing a small model of a hunter with a small dog standing next to him. "He got some of my more valuable ones, too."

"I see." Kimiko said, writing the information down. "Do you know when he broke in?"

HR

Inside of the house, Ranko was looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Fortunately, robberies weren't as stressful as murder investigations and didn't need crime scene investigators. Seeing a vase tipped over on one of the window ledges, she walked over there to see a closed and locked window. Looking closer, something caught her eye and she bent to examine the ledge. Reaching down, she came up with a puff of black hair, with a few white strands in it. The hair was long, and really soft. The strange thing was that there were no grey hairs, just black and white, and the tuft was far too big to have fallen off of someone's head, unless they were suffering from radiation poisoning.

As Ranko realized where the hair she was holding came from, she cursed aloud. She had wondered what could be worse than having to go to the Tendo home the day before yesterday, and this was it.

HR

Kimiko looked up from her notes as she heard her partner walking into the front entryway of the house. "Did you find anything?" She asked, curiously.

"Yes, let's go." Ranko said, in a clipped, sharp voice.

"What, what's going on?" Kimiko wondered, as Ranko walked past her. "I'm sorry about this, we have to go." She hurriedly explained to Mrs. Takahashi, before following the redhead from the house.

HR

A few seconds later, Ranko had gotten into the car, and started it's engine. Kimiko quickly followed her, wondering what was going on. "Ranko, what did you find?" She asked, concerned.

Ranko tossed Kimiko the small tuft of fur, and the other woman looked at it questioningly. "And what's this thing?"

"It's panda fur." Ranko explained, as she picked up the radio. "Dispatch, where do the Saotomes live?" Getting an answer, she didn't know weather to feel happy or disappointed that they still lived in the same house.

"The Saotomes? What's going on?" Kimiko asked, now remembering the report she had read on one Genma Saotome. He was a thief, but how did Ranko know he was the right one? Then again, Tokyo Metropolitan Police had been trying to catch him in the act for about twenty years now, so if Ranko was right this could be trouble. "Shouldn't we call for backup?"

"No, we'll be fine." Ranko said, as the squad car pulled up in front of a small, single story house. In the front yard, a dark red haired woman looked up from tending her garden, curiously. Standing up and brushing off her Kimono, she began to walk to the front gate. Ranko seemed to wince as she unbuckled her seatbelt, but the wince was quickly replaced with a sense of angry determination.

Kimiko didn't really know what was going on, but followed her partner's lead as Ranko got out of the car, proceeding to walk up to the gate that the older woman was now standing at.

"Hello, what can I…" The woman started, before seeing Ranko's face. "And what are you doing here." She continued, coolly.

Kimiko was shocked at the change of attitude, from friendly to frosty in under a second, but it didn't seem to bother Ranko, who had entered a calm state that Kimiko had only ever seen twice before, at the only murder investigations she and Ranko had investigated as a team. "I'm here to talk to Genma Saotome." Ranko said, curtly.

"What do you want with my husband?" The woman asked, suspiciously.

"He's a suspect in a robbery near here." Ranko answered, just as shortly. The older woman's eyes widened for a moment, before she slowly turned around and started for the door. "And if you tell him we are here, I will take you as an accomplice." Ranko continued, causing the woman to stiffen.

"That wasn't really called for, was it?" Kimiko asked, looking at Ranko in shock. The redhead nodded slightly, but Kimiko wasn't sure. Ranko had been acting very differently ever since she had come out of Mrs. Takahashi's home, and she couldn't figure out why. Had this Genma person done something to her? Deciding to watch the proceedings incase her partner did something over the line, she stayed silent.

A few moments later, a fat man in a dirt specked white Gi came out of the house, the auburn haired woman following him closely. When the fat man saw Ranko' his eyes widened slightly. Strangely, it hadn't been the police badge pinned to the redhead's uniform that had caused the reaction, but the face above it.

"What are you doing here, boy?" The fat man said, snarling at Ranko angrily.

Ranko paid no attention to the odd form of address, walking forward to the man. "Genma Saotome, you are considered a suspect in a theft investigation. I'd request that you turn out the pockets in that Gi, please."

"Are you blind, there aren't any pockets on this Gi." Genma protested, looking around for an escape rout.

"Do you really want me to empty them myself?" Ranko asked, cracking her knuckles. As Kimiko was about to interrupt the redhead, saying that that would be illegal, the fat man did the only partially expected, and ran. Well, he tried to run at least, until Ranko stopped him with an upraised arm that was planted into his stomach as he tried to charge past her.

Genma coughed, then performed a roundhouse kick that almost knocked Ranko's feet from under her, before she jumped over it, higher than Kimiko thought possible, and planted both legs into Genma's face, causing him to topple over sideways. With a sigh, Ranko opened the front of the Gi, sticking her hand in and extracting a small ceramic elephant, with a broken left tusk. "As she was rolling Genma over to put a pair of handcuffs on him, The auburn haired woman, who had stayed silent along with Kimiko for the majority of recent events, spoke up. "Please, don't arrest him."

Ranko looked up at her questioningly. "Why not?"

"He, he was only trying to make enough money for us to keep our home and stay fed." The woman said, hesitantly. "I disapproved at first, but he just refused to hold a steady job and…"

Ranko snorted. "Just like the old bastard, Couldn't pay so he stole." She said, bitterly, as she secured the handcuffs, seemingly tighter than Kimiko thought was healthy.

Kimiko looked in astonishment at the small ceramic figurine on the ground. Ranko hadn't been subtle about it, and had technically broken a couple laws herself in doing it, but she had caught Genma Saotome, an accomplishment in itself. "So how do we write this up?" She asked, looking from Ranko to Genma and back.

"Simple, theft and resisting arrest." Ranko said, as she hoisted Genma with one hand, depositing him into the back of the police car. As she did, the older woman spoke up again.

"Ranma."

Ranko's head whipped around, and she looked at the older woman. "I don't know who that is." She said, coldly.

"Please Ranma, don't do this." The woman begged, walking closer to Ranko. "Your father really only did this to keep us fed. If you can't let him go for his sake, then do it for mine."

Ranko looked at the older woman, and the icy look on her face melted, but not to show compassion. For just a second, pure and uncontrolled rage suffused her expression before she could get it back under control. "He," She said, pointing angrily at Genma, "Isn't my father and you certainly aren't my mother, Nodoka Saotome."

The older woman, Nodoka, stepped back as if she'd been slapped. "Ranma…" She said, off balance. "Don't you care about your family at all?"

Ranko laughed bitterly. "No, I really don't. You threw me aside like garbage when I couldn't do what you wanted me to anymore, and the only reason I'm alive today is because of the generosity of the Tendos and the poor saps they tricked into adopting me. Really, I couldn't care LESS about you or Genma!" She yelled, before climbing into the car and slamming her door hard enough to apparently cause something inside the assembly to break. "Kimiko, let's go."

Kimiko looked from Nodoka, who looked absolutely shocked, to Ranko, who was now glaring at her. "I'm coming." She said, opening her own door and sitting next to the still very angry seeming redhead.

As Ranko hit the accelerator and the car sped away from Nodoka Saotome's now single person house, Kimiko finally found the courage to speak. "Ranko, was that really your mother?"

Ranko just turned and glared at Kimiko, before looking back at the road. A few seconds later, she spoke. "Yes, that was my mom. That was one of the major reasons I didn't want to come to Nerima." She said, as her voice began to shake. Looking at Ranko now, Kimiko could see a stream of tears flowing from her eyes.

"Maybe I should drive." She said, lamely. She really couldn't think of anything to say to someone who had just arrested her own father and left her mother in the dust, especially since she seemed to have very good reasons to do so.

Note: Balli will be explained, and get some character depth later. He isn't a new character; in fact many game fans may know him. His name is spelled very differently than I show it here. This is how Japanese would mangle it, in my opinion, similar to Balladu for brad. Also, I'm writing it this way so that I don't give away who he really is too early.

I don't know if anyone knows this, but I just found out that Kuno… at least his voice actor, died last year. Man, now I somehow feel bad about bashing him. Damn…

This chapter made me so damned depressed. I'm gunna go off and cry now.


	6. Chapter 6

You may wonder why Ranko is bouncing back so well in this chapter. Well, partially it's because She is who she is, and is as adaptable emotionally as she is physically. Of course, another part is simple stubbornness… and I don't know if that's truly a good thing or a bad thing in the end.

Also, I'm sorry about focusing so much on Kimiko in this chapter, but Ranko's effectively catatonic at the start, to prevent from losing it again after confronting Nodoka. Also, Kimiko's an OC, and I'm wondering why I'm not getting flamed and jabbed due to this fact… I thought people hated OCs?

Chapter 6, consolation and the second attack.

Ranko once more ignored a sound while trying to sleep, but this time it was a hard knocking on her apartment door. After coming five or six times, the noise faded away, and she went back to sleep, attempting to forget what had happened the day before. Truthfully, she was supposed to be on duty today, but she just couldn't bring herself to care.

What exactly had she done to piss off the Kami who'd brought this down on her head? She'd tried to create something out of what she'd been tossed ten years ago, and now they were back, to take it all away again. Then again, they weren't really doing anything to take away her life, such as it was. They were just reminding her of everything that she had once had. A family in more than name, a group of people who, at one level or another, had needed her, if not loved her. Growling in frustration, she rolled over quickly, accidentally sending herself off of the edge of her bed. That was what took her from the pool of self pity that she'd been laying in for the past half day, cracking her skull against the floor.

"The tomboy would be proud…" Ranko muttered, Rubbing the throbbing bump that was now present on the side of her head. Climbing to her feet, She decided to see if she could catch whoever had been knocking on her door and see what they wanted. "I may not be Ranma Saotome anymore, but I still ain't gunna give up." She said, then admonished herself for sounding so completely cheesy.

HR

Outside of Ranko's apartment door, Kimiko sighed as she lowered her fist for the final time. It looked like her partner was bound and determined not to come out, and she wasn't prepared to kick down the door… at least, not yet. By this point, however, she was getting very concerned about Ranko. The pigtailed officer had barely said two words to her for the entire day yesterday, at least after she had brought Genma in. The quickness with which she had seemed to regain her composure when she arrived at the police station was also startling. Of course, a lot of things that had happened when they got back to the station were startling, including how Sergeant Aido looked like he was going to hug her and Ranko in pure excitement for actually Catching Genma.

/Flashback\

"This is incredible! You two did great work here." Sergeant Aido said, as he sat behind his desk, his feet not even resting on it for a change, and his posture perfectly straight.

"All we did was catch a thief, right?" Kimiko asked, confused. Ranko stayed silent, as she had been ever since her revelation in the car a few minutes earlier.

"A THIEF! This man is used as a case study in the police academy." Aido said, as he typed up a few words on his computer, turning so that Ranko and Kimiko could get a good look.

Kimiko gaped at the long list of petty and major thefts, cons, and other crimes that were before her. She had skimmed his profile before, but profiles didn't, as a rule, contain every incidence of illegal activity. As she scrolled down the list, she saw that Genma was even charged with cruelty to animals, and child abuse. At the last one, her eyes widened and she looked at Ranko. Was that why she hated Genma so much? If Nodoka was her mother, then Genma was her father and she was probably the child who was referenced in the files. As she thought about this, Sergeant Aido's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"…And we think we can get him put behind bars for about seven years." He said, causing Ranko to speak up for the first time.

"Isn't that a pretty harsh sentence for one confirmed theft? I don't think we could get away with it." She said, neutrally.

Aido grinned. "A while ago, I found a charge that could work if we ever caught Saotome. Believe me, this is a dream come true for me. There's an old law on the books, it's never used and I think everyone's forgotten about it, that states that a theft that endangers the livelihood of it's victims is considered assault with intent to harm. Poor Mrs. Takahashi almost had a heart attack, it's a wonder she's not in the hospital."

"This is a pretty big misuse of legal authority." Kimiko said, uncertainly.

Aido nodded. "In any other case, I wouldn't dream of doing it." He said, completely seriously. I, and the department, have been tracking Genma Saotome since he got here twelve years ago."

"So you…" Ranko said, hesitantly.

"Yes, I know." Aido said, looking uncertainly at Kimiko. "Figured it out when Officers Neomoto and Aida made a comment about it on your second day. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you, sir." Ranko said, nodding. This was one of the very few things that had gone right for her today. "Do you know how to contain him?"

Aido nodded as well. "We've got him in a MA holding cell down stairs, and everyone has standing orders not to open the doors, even if he can't be seen."

"A MA holding cell?" Kimiko asked, being temporarily distracted away from Ranko's previous exchange with the sergeant.

"They're special cells that we've got in the basement here, in case we have to hold one of the stronger Martial Artists in the district." Aido said, smiling. "We had Ryoga Hibiki test them, and the only way he could get out was by getting lost."

Ranko flinched at the name, but then smiled slightly. "Yeah, if Ryoga couldn't get out of one, I doubt Genma could." She said, nodding. "May I go now sir?"

Aido nodded, and Ranko walked out of the room leaving Kimiko alone with the Sergeant.  
"Sir, what was that Ranko said about you knowing something?" She asked.

"If she hasn't told you, I'm afraid I can't." Aido said, as he reclined in his chair again and put his feet on the desk, relaxing.

"But sir…" Kimiko said, and was interrupted.

"All I'll say about that kid is that she's a lot better than her parents." Aido said. "Nothing else. You're going to have to ask her if you want more information."

Kimiko sighed, but nodded.

/End Flashback.\

'Unfortunately, Ranko won't tell me anything.' Kimiko thought, as she sat down on a bench next to her partner's apartment building's front door. She didn't know why this secret of Ranko's bothered her so much, except that it seemed to cause the redhead a lot of pain, and even if she was kind of inept at it, she did try to help Kimiko whenever she was feeling upset.

"Hey, kinda figured it was you." Ranko said, causing Kimiko to snap her head around from contemplating the street to see the redhead, standing in the doorway of the building.

"Ranko?" She asked, trying to resist laughing. "Nice outfit."

"Huh?" Ranko asked, before feeling a draft on her legs and looking down to see that she was still wearing the T-shirt and boxers she'd passed out in the night before. "Eap!" She said, backing into the building a little.

Kimiko couldn't hold it in anymore, and started laughing hysterically at the look of absolute embarrassment on the redhead's face, and that little embarrassed squeak she'd made.

"Hey, it wasn't that funny!" Ranko called, from inside of the apartment building, which only got Kimiko going further.

HR

Five minutes later, Kimiko was sitting in Ranko's rather small kitchen, while the redhead was sitting in the only other chair in the apartment, across from her. "So, what did you come here for?" Ranko asked, setting a cup of Coffee on the table for Kimiko to take.

Kimiko thought of trying to interrogate Ranko about yesterday, but what had happened earlier had made it almost impossible for her to think seriously, so she shrugged. "You were supposed to meet me at the train station two hours ago, you know." She said instead, picking up the coffee and taking a sip.

"Oh, right." Ranko said, as she shot up from her seat. "We're pretty late…"

"Let's not go in today." Kimiko said, out of the blue.

"What?" Ranko asked, stunned. "Why?"

Kimiko shrugged. "Well, after yesterday, I'd figure you would need a day off, and we're already going to get flack for being late, so we may as well get yelled at for a good reason right?" She said, reasonably.

Ranko just looked at her partner for a second, before laughing. "And I suppose you wanna drag me all over Tokyo while you're at it, right?"

"Right." Kimiko said, deadpan.

Ranko appeared to consider this for a moment, before nodding. "All right." She said, exiting the kitchen into the main room.

Curious to see what Ranko was doing, Kimiko looked through the opening between the two rooms to see the redhead's back as she pulled off her shirt. She let out a soft gasp as, with the light from a fixture in the kitchen shining on it, she saw many little white scars pock marking the normal colored flesh. Of course, the only other time she had seen Ranko's bare back it had been dark, and the two of them had been more than a few sheets to the wind.

Ranko looked back over her shoulder at the sound of Kimiko's gasp, and blushed before hurrying to a part of the room where she couldn't be seen to continue changing. "Kimiko no hentai." She muttered, just barely loud enough for the brown haired woman to hear.

"Hey, I'm not a pervert!" Kimiko objected, indignantly.

"Sure, sure." Ranko said, as she emerged wearing a white blouse and black slacks. "You ready to get out of here now?"

Kimiko just nodded.

HR

The next morning, Ranko felt much better as she walked into the police station, Kimiko walking next to her. The day before had been a much needed break from the insanity of the past couple of weeks, and she was feeling, if not good about the idea of working around Nerima, a lot better about it than she had the morning before. That was, of course, until she saw someone standing at the counter, talking to the desk clerk there.

"And thou havest the presumption to tell I, the blue thunder of Kuno Investment Corp, to wait here like a lowly common street walker for the love of my life, the woman for whom I pine daily! This is a travesty. Thou art not the bringers of justice, but the fools that stand in its divine way!" Kuno bellowed, as he swung his wooden bokken around the hapless office girl.

"I, I'm sorry Mr. Kuno, but she's not here, Oh. There she is!" She said, pointing at Ranko with a trembling hand.

"Thanks a lot." Ranko muttered, as the blue thunder oriented on a new target. Kimiko backed away as he charged towards her partner, and reached for her folding baton. "I hope this works…" She said, as she stretched it out and Kuno fell to the ground with a resounding thud, and a whimper.

Ranko winced in sympathy with the blue thunder, and Kimiko looked rather embarrassed as she realized where she had just struck him. After two male officers carried Kuno off to the station's small infirmary, Ranko and Kimiko hurriedly headed for the garage, the latter throwing the occasional guilty glance backwards.

"I think we should take Juuban today." Ranko said, wanting to avoid anymore of this strangeness.

HR

'Be careful what you wish for…' Ranko thought, as she stood at yet another police barricade while a body was being wheeled out on a stretcher. Fortunately, this time she and Kimiko hadn't been the ones to discover it, but she had to feel sorry for poor Hiroshi and Daisuke. They had never worked anywhere other than Nerima, where it seemed like, no matter how much was done, no one actually died.

They both looked as if they were going to pass out. This time, it hadn't been a middle-schooler, at least. The man who was being wheeled out on the stretcher seemed to be about twenty five, and the only commonalities with the school girl were the massive quantity of pockmark like surface burns that covered his body, and the fact that he had been found in an alley. He hadn't even been found in Juuban, this time the rather panicked report having been called in by a teacher at Furinkan high who found him when she was taking the garbage out.

Seeing a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye, Ranko looked up rapidly, to see a small figure leaping away from the scene. She considered leaping after it, but it was going too fast for her to catch, and had only seemed to be there for a fraction of a second before disappearing.

"Ranko, what are you looking at?" Kimiko asked, as she pushed a curious tourist back over the "Police line, do not cross" tape.

"Oh, nothing." Ranko said, shaking her head. 'must have been my imagination.' She thought, before returning to helping Kimiko keep the crowd back.

END.

Notes:

I know Sergeant Aido is playing fast and loose with a LOT of rules, but this is Nerima. The police there would have to be lax in order not to get in the way of forces that they have no way of coping with, and He's just been there for so long that it's kind of part of his nature.

Damn, this fic's chapters are so short… I suck. 


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note. I'm going away for Christmas on the twenty second. I know I often have two week long, or longer, update gaps with no explanation, but I figured I should tell you that if nothing's updated by then it probably won't be until after the first, at least.

Also, this chapter's dedicated to James Axelrad. I'm not getting him anything else for Christmas, so he'd better like it!

Chapter 7, visiting under duress.

"You all right?" Kimiko asked, as she looked at the man sitting across the table from her in the Nerima PD's staff room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He grunted, picking up his coffee mug and draining it in about eight seconds flat. Kimiko personally wondered how he didn't burn his mouth half-way down his throat, but he'd been doing it for the past three days and hadn't complained yet.

He was Daisuke Aida, and he'd looked better. Granted, Kimiko hadn't known him long but his eyes had deep circles under them, and his cheeks were pale. He looked a lot like she had the first time she'd seen a murder. "So, where's Sato?" He asked, noting her lack of partner.

Kimiko shrugged. "Apparently the train line broke down and she has to take a bus." She grinned slightly, trying to cheer the man up. "Personally I think she overslept and didn't want to admit it."

"I heard that!" Came an annoyed voice from the entrance of the room.

Turning, Kimiko laughed nervously. "Gotta go, Daisuke-san." She said, standing up and heading out. He just nodded and waved slightly.

HR.

Ranko groaned to herself as she and Kimiko pulled into the police station. This afternoon had been rather interesting, to say the least. "Did you really have to do that?" She demanded, looking over at her partner.

The other woman looked at her, rather similarly to a dog that had done something bad and wanted to suck up to its owner. "I only hit him in the gut a few times." She said, meekly.

"For accidentally slipping and bumping into you." The redhead said, levelly. "This is the fourth time this year. I mean, if he was actually trying to grope you rather than falling on his face I'd help you beat the crap out of him, but…" She was cut off, as the car pulled around to the rear of the station.

Seeing a chance to get Ranko's heat off of her, Kimiko smiled. "Looks like our little friend is back." She said, pointing at the young girl who was sitting and waiting patiently by the entrance to the garage.

"How the heck did she get here?" Ranko asked, as she contemplated whether she should drive past the girl.

Kimiko shrugged, but frowned when her partner looked like she wasn't going to stop. "Aren't you going to help her?" She asked, as the girl turned pleading eyes to the car's window. Ranko grunted in annoyance, but had to admit that the idea of driving past the girl hadn't really stayed in her mind for too long.

Pulling the car to a stop, she rolled down her drivers side window and poked her head out. "You lost again, kid?" She asked, trying to sound kind even if she was still a little bit annoyed at her partner.

The girl nodded sadly, holding up a small device with a low battery message flashing on it. "Yes, Ranko-san." She said, mournfully. "I saw the police station sign and decided to ask for directions, but ended up out here."

Ranko turned to her partner. "Kimiko, you've got some paperwork to do here. I'll take her back home." She said.

The other officer fidgeted nervously, but eventually nodded and opened her door, trading spots with the little girl.

As Ranko drove off, she sighed deeply. "Here comes another citation, I know it." She grumbled, before walking down the stairs and into the building.

HR.

As she entered the police station, Kimiko noticed that there was someone standing in the front office. She had dark auburn hair with a few streaks of grey running through it, and she thought that she'd seen her before recently. The woman was talking animatedly to the desk clerk.

As Kimiko approached the desk, she started hearing the conversation. "I'm sorry ma'am, but all of our people are on the street at the moment and you require an escort."

"Why do I need an escort? I am not going to do anything." The woman said, sounding offended.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but Mr. Saotome is being held in the martial artist cell block. You are required to have an escort to go there." The receptionist said again, as if she'd done this several times before and the woman just hadn't gotten the point.

"I can take her down." Ranko's partner butted in, wanting to stave off the paperwork she was going to have to write for as long as possible. Both the receptionist and the woman turned to her with grateful expressions, the receptionist's carrying the additional implication that she'd buy her a coffee at some point for this.

"You'll help me see my husband?" The woman asked, smiling and bowing slightly.

"Sure, Saotome-san." Kimiko said, shrugging. A big part of why she was doing this was so that she could get extra information about Ranko, to tell the truth, but it also seemed unfair that the woman wouldn't be allowed to see her husband.

Entering a secure elevator near the back of the station's lobby, the brown haired woman withdrew a small ring of keys from her pocket and rummaged around on it. At Mrs. Saotome's expectant look, she glanced up sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm new to this station." She explained, before finding the key she was looking for and turning it in a lock that granted access to the floor below the lobby.

After the elevator stopped and the doors opened, the two women stepped out and started walking down a stone corridor. Kimiko looked around almost as avidly as Nodoka, since she'd actually never been down to this particular section of the station. Most of the people she'd brought in were put in temporary holding on the first floor before being transferred somewhere else, and a small station like Nerima's having actual jail cells was rather unusual.

Within a few seconds, they had come to a checkpoint manned by a single rather sleepy looking officer. He looked Kimiko's uniform up and down a few times before his mind seemed to click. "Oh, hello Kimiko-san." Daisuke said, sleepily.

"Daisuke?" Kimiko asked, surprised. "Why are you down here?"

"Hiroshi didn't show up this morning so I'm guarding this area for the day." Daisuke answered, before gesturing to a low counter in front of his station. "You've got to check your weapon here, standard procedure." Shrugging, Kimiko removed her sidearm from her holster, ejected the clip and the bullet in the chamber, and placed them on the counter.

Nodoka's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the firearm since they were so rare in Japan, but she quickly began to follow the female officer as she walked out of the checkpoint and down another hall marked "Martial Artist Holding Cells."

A few moments later, Nodoka finally decided to speak. "You… you are Ran.. ko's partner, correct?" She asked, seeming to stop for a moment on the redhead's name.

Kimiko looked at her oddly before nodding.

The Saotome woman took a few moments, struggling with herself. She apparently wanted to ask a question, but some part of her, a pretty strong part, was holding it back. "Is, is Ranko happy?" She finally asked, looking at Kimiko almost pleadingly for an answer for just a second before her expression hardened again.

Kimiko blinked. That question had come so far out of left field that she wasn't sure how to answer it. She thought for several seconds, and was about to answer as the two turned a corner. Unfortunately, her thought out answer was derailed by what she saw. "What the hell?" She demanded, moving in front of Mrs. Saotome and taking up a guarding stance that every officer knew.

HR.

Ranko quickly shifted the car into first gear, engaged the parking break and turned off the key as they pulled up in front of the Tendo compound. "All right, here we are." She said, popping the passenger side door lock. Umiko just sat there, gazing back at her levelly. "What is it?" She demanded, uncertainly.

"Aren't you coming in?" The little girl asked, smiling cutely.

Ranko contemplated this for a moment. There were no pressing matters at the station, and she had ditched both Kasumi and Nabiki last time. Sighing, she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the vehicle. "All right, C'mon." She said, heading for the gate.

"Yay!" Umiko cheered, hopping out of her side of the vehicle and chasing after the policewoman. Shrugging, Ranko walked up to the door and knocked.

A few seconds later, footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door and then it opened to reveal Kasumi. "Oh, Hello Ranko-san." She said, smiling.

"Hey, Kasumi. Bringin the lost girl back home." Ranko explained, gesturing at Umiko.

"Oh my, you got lost again Umiko-chan?" Kasumi asked, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"Sorry, Aunt Kasumi." Umiko said, lowering her head.

"Well you will come in and stay for a cup of tea and some dinner this time, right Ranko-san?" The oldest Tendo daughter asked, though the expression on her face actually seemed to fade a little from her usual smile. Apparently Ranko had been wrong about her not minding them not staying the last time.

"Yeah, sure Kasumi." The redhead mumbled, following the two inside and kicking off her shoes.

As she walked into the living room, she saw that Nabiki was sitting on the couch with her laptop, the same as she had been the last time she'd visited. Before she could stop herself, she spoke. "Hey, Nabs. You not workin or somethin?"

Nabiki just smirked, not at all offended. "I work from home." She explained, before moving from a laying position on the couch to a sitting position. "Good to see you again so soon, Sato."

"Thanks." Ranko responded, slightly surprised that she hadn't been pinned to the wall with a barbed retort from the middle Tendo. "Umiko sorta insisted."

"Oh, why?" Nabiki asked, curious.

"Her GPS system ran out of batteries again, apparently." Ranko said. "I figure she should probably carry spares or something."

Nabiki frowned, noticing Umiko peering into the room from the door to the hallway. Raising her voice, she spoke. "Well, she DID take a fully charged pack this morning. I'd sure like to know how it got discharged so fast!"

The little girl came out of hiding, looking as if someone had caught her taking cookies from the jar. Reluctantly, and at the older woman's gesture, she passed Nabiki her GPS and a second battery that she'd pulled out of a pocket that had been stitched onto the front of her school dress.

Smirking, the middle Tendo held down a small button on the side of the second battery, revealing four lit LED lights on its side. "She's a lot like her aunt." She commented, slipping the battery into the device and handing it to the girl. "Now go on out to the dojo. I want to talk to Ranko-san."

Umiko nodded, seemingly relieved that she hadn't gotten punished. After she ran out of the room, Ranko frowned. "Why did she do that?"

Nabiki shrugged. "She thought you were interesting and wanted to see you again, I'd guess." She explained. Suddenly worried, she frowned. "She didn't cause any actual trouble, did she?"

Ranko lifted an eyebrow. "You're worried about somethin, Nabiki?"

The brown haired woman shrugged. "Well, I don't want to have my niece accused of interfering with a police officer." She explained.

"To answer your question, she didn't cause any problem, though I am kinda confused as to why she'd do that." Ranko answered.

Nabiki frowned again, this time deeper. If Ranko didn't know better, she would have sworn that the middle Tendo was actually sad. "Well, you know about the whole Hibiki family direction problem, right?" At Ranko's nod, she continued. "Each generation, it gets a little better. Ryoga could find places where people he cared about were, sometimes, and Akane's got about the same level of direction sense now that she married him."

Nabiki stopped for a moment, as if realizing what she'd just said, but continued when it looked like Ranko was still all right. "Umiko is better still. She can follow directions given to her, especially with that little GPS we bought her a couple of years ago, but she doesn't see her parents very often." She shrugged. "She tends to latch onto people she likes."

Ranko nodded sympathetically as Kasumi entered the room with a kettle of tea and the three began small talk.

HR.

"Now, I don't believe I deserve that reaction." The tiny old woman sniffed, as she turned away from the work she was doing on a re-enforced stone cell door.

"I… I'm sorry, you just scared me for a second." Kimiko said, wanting to smack herself.

"Quite all right, child." The woman said, turning back to the door and inspecting her work. Nodding, she looked back at Kimiko and Mrs. Saotome. "I know you, Nodoka-san, but who is your companion?"

"I'm Najisa Kimiko." Kimiko said, bowing slightly to the old woman. She had to keep herself from gawking. She honestly didn't think that people could get that small and wrinkled, but unlike her partner, she wouldn't comment on it.

"Glad to meet you. My name is Elder Cologne." The old woman said.

"Elder." Nodoka started, having clearly met the woman before. "Is Genma in that cell?"

Cologne nodded. "Just a warning, the fool talked too much so I threw a bucket of water on him." She said, casually.

Nodoka sighed in resignation as she stepped to the bars and looked through. Kimiko followed, seeing that there was a giant panda inside the cell. "What?" She mumbled, blinking several times. "Is… Is that a…"

"A Panda." Cologne said, looking at the younger woman strangely. "You mean that you have been assigned to Nerima and you do not know about the curses?"

Kimiko looked between the two older women, who seemed to find it perfectly acceptable that there was a Panda in the jail cell. Then, to top things off, the beast drew out a sign when it saw Mrs. Saotome. It said "Hi, Nodoka-chan!"

"Cute trick." She muttered, glairing around at them both. "Now where's Genma Saotome?"

Cologne and Nodoka looked back and forth, then shrugged. "You were not told about Jusenkyo?" The elder asked, looking at the police officer.

Kimiko started to shake her head, and then remembered something. Hiroshi and Daisuke had talked about Jusenkyo when she'd questioned them about 'Ranma,' claiming that it was a place in China that caused people to change shape with water. "You're kidding, right?" She demanded, starting to get seriously annoyed.

Cologne sighed, deciding that shocking the girl a bit would probably be easier than trying to convince her of the existence of magic the old fashioned way. Reaching down into her robe, she pulled a large thermos out from… somewhere, uncapping the top. As Kimiko watched uneasily, she tossed a large quantity of steaming water into the cell.

"Youch! That's HOT!" Genma yelled, angrily.

After staring for a few seconds at the sudden appearance of the overweight martial artist where the panda had been, Kimiko abruptly fainted from weirdness overload.

END.


	8. Chapter 8

Hi. Gotta wake up early tomorrow morning and catch a bus home, so of course staying up and writing a chapter is the SMART thing to do.

PS:To (). You asked for Ryoga, and by george you're gunna get him next chapter. Though please, if you're gunna say that much LEAVE CONTACT INFOMRATION. How many times do I have to say this? Am I talking to the walls or something, I mean… (Weebee abruptly tips revealing Misato behind him with a mallet. She then drags him off into the shadows.)

Misato: Enjoy, folks.

Axelrad: Lucky bastard.

Misato: Shut up!

Chapter 8, Surface Tension.

Kimiko's eyes opened, but the world seemed to be a blur. She was looking up directly into a light. Struggling, she remembered the last few minutes of consciousness before she'd fainted. When her memory came up to the point where the panda had turned into a man, she shook her head, causing her vision to clear. Standing above her was a concerned looking auburn haired woman and a wrinkled old one.

"Are you all right, dear?" The Auburn haired one asked, offering a hand to help the police officer up.

"Yeah." Kimiko said, accepting, though not relying on the older woman's effort. Standing, she noted that she was still in the passage under the police station, and the now rather annoyed looking man was still sitting in the cell.

"That… wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked, quietly.

"You mean the old fool turning into a Panda?" Cologne asked, provoking an indignant shout from Genma. At Kimiko's nod, she nodded herself. "That is a Jusenkyo curse."

Kimiko's head started to swim again, having actually seen the events once before keeping her from passing out again, and she walked over to the side of the cell where there was a wooden stool. Plunking down on it, she began to think.

The one reason she'd dismissed Hiroshi and Daisuke's story about Ranko was that the magic had seemed far fetched. Now that she'd actually seen the magic, she had to admit that the story had made sense. "So Ranko…" She started.

"Ranko used to be known as Ranma, My son." Nodoka confirmed, a look that was half way between sorrow and disgust easily seen on her face.

Seeing that these people seemed to know something, and that they were willing to answer questions, Kimiko's natural instincts as a policewoman took over. "What happened?" She demanded.

HR.

"So, what've you been doing other than being a police officer, Ranko-chan?" Kasumi asked, as she poured more tea into the redhead's cup.

"Not much." Ranko admitted, sheepishly. "Didn't really think about what I was gunna do with life before…" She shook her head, trying to be more pleasant. "I mostly stay at home, Unless Kimiko decides I'm bein anti-social and drags me out for the weekend."

"Kimiko, that's your partner, right? the one who came with you when you first returned Umiko." Nabiki questioned. At Ranko's nod, she smirked. "She your girlfriend, Sato?"

"Nabiki!" Kasumi said, raising a hand to her mouth in shock.

"What, it's a legitimate question." The middle Tendo replied, not looking at all guilty. Kasumi kept her hand up to her mouth, but Ranko could see that she looked curious as well.

"No, she's my partner." Ranko said, glairing at the middle Tendo icily.

Nabiki flinched, noting to herself that Ranko wasn't quite as fun to tease as Ranma had once been. "Sorry, just a question." She said, waving her hand in front of her face.

The room fell into a short, awkward silence as the three women just sat for a moment, before Ranko spoke up. "So, where's yer father? I don't even see his old Go board on the floor." She asked.

Kasumi's smile seemed to dim a few notches, and Nabiki's own disappeared, but she sighed. "Guess we get our own uncomfortable question after that one, eh?" She asked, rhetorically.

"I didn't know it was a sensitive subject, sorry." Ranko returned.

Nabiki shrugged. "It's not. Daddy just got a little more depressed after," She trailed off uncomfortably. "He's been sick for a few years now."

"Oh." Ranko said, feeling about as uncomfortable as the Tendos had a few moments before. "I… I should really go." She said, getting up. Kasumi looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't as the red haired police officer headed for the front hall. "I'll come and visit again some time." She said.

Kasumi quickly got up, walking to the door to do the polite thing and see her guest out, but the two were stopped in the front hall. Just as Ranko was in the process of slipping her shoes on, the front door flew open and a bedraggled looking blue-black haired woman tromped in.

"Oh, Hi Kasumi!" Akane said, happily. Looking back into the yard, she called to an unseen second person. "Hey Ryoga-kun, we've found home!"

Ranko just stood in the front hall, caught like a deer in headlights.

HR.

Kimiko was shocked. No, this was different. She'd been shocked that time a guy with an illegally obtained gun had let off a round that missed her ear by a couple millimeters. What she was feeling now was an odd mix of anger that Ranko had kept so much hidden from her and disbelief that it was all true. Even so, it all made sense. There were a lot of tomboyish girls, but Ranko had seemed to take it to the next level, and be overly proud of it even though her physically petite size didn't exactly lend itself to acting butch. She'd always refused to go to bath houses with Kimiko on their weekend excursions, and her complete lack of a past up until the age of eighteen was easily made up for by the fact that she'd changed family names at that point. Still, this whole thing was almost unbelievable.

"Are you all right, child?" The old woman, Kimiko thought her name was Cologne, asked.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in." Kimiko answered somewhat distantly. She was now sitting in a small room down the hall from Genma's cell, as the old man had kept yelling annoying comments while Cologne had told Ranko's story. Looking across the room to a poster on the opposite wall of a green pasture, she sighed. "I just don't understand why Ranko would keep this kind of thing a secret."

"Would you have believed her if she had told you that she was born a boy, trained in incredibly powerful martial arts and engaged to four different women?" Cologne asked, dryly.

Kimiko had the decency to blush. "Well, I know at least one guy in Bokuto that makes almost as convincing a girl as Ranko does." She said, trying to justify her annoyance.

"I'm sure you probably do, but he is actually still male, correct?" Cologne responded, actually mildly curious about this comment but not wanting to push it.

Kimiko nodded, thinking to herself. "It does kind of explain how she's been acting lately." She finally admitted.

Cologne perked up a bit at that, causing the younger woman to back off nervously. "How has she been acting?" The old woman asked, seeming to switch from mild and re-assuring to worried in a few seconds.

"Well, she's been really worried about something lately, and she… didn't exactly take meeting her mother all that well." Kimiko explained.

Cologne grimaced.

"Is there something wrong?" Kimiko asked. Personally, she thought that acting the way Ranko had been for the past couple of weeks in this district was positively restrained, now that she knew at least some of the details of her life here.

Cologne thought for a moment, trying to determine if it was a good idea to tell the girl what she was fearing. She was Ranko's partner, presumably around her all day, and would probably be the first person to deal with the fallout if anything happened. "I highly doubt it, but has Ranko told you about a martial arts technique called the soul of ice?"

Kimiko just looked at her, not comprehending.

Cologne shrugged. "The soul of ice is an ancient Amazon discipline that allows a martial artist to suppress their emotions in combat. We use it for a few things, but usually it's to fuel a secret technique." Seeing that Kimiko was listening so far, she continued. "Another use for it is to allow a warrior to suppress her emotions of a traumatic or emotionally disturbing experience until after the battle, when she has the time to deal with it."

Kimiko looked at Cologne, uncomprehending. "So, what's this got to do with Ranko acting strange?" She asked.

The old woman sighed, mumbling something about impatient youth under her breath. "I'll put it this way. To Ranko, her family turned on her, her fiancée left her, and many of her friends lost all interest in her because of the lock. She knew the soul of ice, and her father's first rule of combat was 'If you can't think of a way to beat your current opponent, run away until you can.'"

It took Kimiko a second to process this, but then she nodded. "So she used that Soul of Ice to lock all the stuff she couldn't deal with out?"

"Yes, and she didn't deal with it. When the two of you stopped in at the Neko-hanten to pick up the foolish burglar who attempted to rob Shampoo and Mousse, I was upstairs and got a look at her aura." Cologne sighed before continuing. "A lot of the sadness and resentment that she accumulated that day is still there, waiting for a trigger to be let out. I was planning to talk to the chief of this department about it after I was finished with Genma."

Kimiko just stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

HR.

"Hello Akane!" Kasumi said, though her happiness was slightly tempered with worry as she noted Ranko standing, shocked, next to her.

Seeing where her sister's eyes were flicking, Akane looked to the side and her own eyes widened. "Ranma?" She asked, unsure.

"Erm, Hi, Akane...." Ranko said, not even bothering to correct the other girl on the name.

"Wow, I've missed you." The former youngest Tendo said, surprizing the police officer by giving her a quick and friendly hug.

"Me to." Ranko replied, still unsure of what to say. "I… I was gunna get going." She said, quickly trying to make for the door.

"Hey, I just got back and I haven't seen you for years. You aren't going to take off on me are you?" Akane asked, looking at the redhead disapprovingly. Internally, Ranko marveled at the personality change in the dark blue haired girl.

She wanted to say that there was something important going on, but couldn't bring herself to say no to Akane's brightly smiling face, so quickly followed her back into the main room.

"Welcome back, sis." Nabiki said, her casual words betrayed by a smile.

Akane nodded, sitting down at the table. The tableau of a re-uniting family was quickly completed as Umiko ran into the room, hugging her mother tightly. Ranko slowly took a seat back at the table as the mother and daughter finished greeting.

After setting her daughter down, Akane looked around the room. "Oh, where'd that idiot Ryoga go?" She asked.

"Sorry sis but I think he's lost again." Nabiki said, smirking.

Akane frowned, but then shook herself out of it as she looked over to Ranko and looked her up and down. "So, you're a police officer now, huh?" She asked, glad to see that the redhead had recovered after Nerima.

"Yeah." Ranko said, nodding to thank Kasumi as she set a plate of snacks on the low table. "Figured it was the closest I'd get to the art."

"Do you like doing it?" The other woman questioned, taking one of the snacks and chomping down on it in a similar way to that Ranma had used to use.

"It's all right." Ranko said. The conversation continued for a few minutes, the group having a great deal of small talk, and Ranko began to relax around Akane. She had changed quite a bit from the Tomboy she remembered, with a much more developed musculature and her blouse and slacks travel stained, similarly to Ryoga's. She'd apparently matured a lot mentally, too, since the day Ranko had left. Unfortunately, Ranko's old habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time happened to return during the conversation, as she asked a kind of tactless question. "One thing I don't get," she said, "is how you and Pig Boy got together."

Akane frowned again. "I wish you wouldn't call him that." She said, mildly.

Ranko shrugged this off, also not noticing that Nabiki was looking a little disturbed in her corner of the room. "I mean, it musta been some fight when ya found out about…"

"Ranko, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nabiki interrupted, causing the redhead to look at her curiously. At a pleading expression on the middle Tendo's face, she reluctantly stood and followed her out into the front hall.

"What is it, Nabiki?" She asked.

"I wouldn't mention P-chan." Nabiki said, levelly.

"Why…" Ranko started, before a light seemed to click on in her head. "She doesn't know." She said, deadpan.

"No, she doesn't." Nabiki admitted, "And you aren't going to tell her."

"But if you know, why didn't you? And more importantly, how the hell did he hide it for eight years of marriage?" Ranko asked, starting to get angry.

Nabiki's face took on a pained look, before she shrugged. "I didn't find out until about six months into Akane's pregnancy… when P-chan suddenly disappeared." She explained. "I think Ryoga used the Nanituan that was supposed to be for the wedding to do it, or something. As for why I didn't tell her." She frowned. "Ranko, she's happy, and she has her little girl. I… I didn't want to hurt her like that."

Ranko looked at her in astonishment, before the middle Tendo scowled back. "I do have feelings, you know." She said, annoyed.

Ranko reluctantly nodded, though inside of her head there were wars going on. There was a substantial portion of her mind that wanted to march out there and tell Akane precisely what her husband had done in his younger days, but she brutally suppressed it. She hadn't been all that angry when she'd found out that Akane had married Ryoga, though she'd been sad and frustrated, but now… She shook her head. "Nabiki, I think I gotta go." She said, her voice choked.

The brown haired woman nodded. "Listen, Ranko. I'm sorry." She said, sadly.

"Don't worry about it." Ranko said, turning around and walking towards the door.

Nabiki reluctantly turned away, re-entering the living room.

"Where'd Ranma go?" Akane asked, slightly worriedly noting that there was no redhead following her sister back in.

"She had to go." Nabiki responded.

"It was because I showed up, wasn't it?" Akane asked, looking down.

"No, I'm sure that wasn't it." Kasumi said, quickly.

"Kasumi," Akane said, sighing. "I pretty well told him that his curse made me sick after trying to live with him locked like that for a month. Don't tell me he's not still mad about that."

"I'm sure she's fine, Akane." Kasumi replied, comfortingly, kneeling next to her sister's seat and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Ranma was always tough, and she still is."

"Ranma?" Came a voice, as Ryoga Hibiki entered the room. "What about Ranma?"

"She was just here." Kasumi explained, calmly.

Ryoga looked at his wife, who had her head down as if she'd been crying and was being comforted by her sister, before growling and heading out of the porch doors he'd come in through and hopping over the compound wall.

Nabiki realized what he was going to go and do just a minute too late, calling after him but knowing that he was long gone.

END.

Note: Ryoga's conclusion jumping at the end may seem contrived, and it really is, but this is, or at least was at one time, Ranma 1/2.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi again folks. Well, here's the chapter we've all been waiting for. It's... definately surprising.

Special thanks to James Axelrad for proofing of... well, almost everything lately, and forcing me to write this at elephant point.

Anyhow, on with the show.

Chapter 9, No Turning Back.

Ranko's mind was swirling with unpleasant thoughts as she pulled the police cruiser off of the road that the Tendo house was built on, turning into the light traffic of the Neriman afternoon. Most of those thoughts involved finding a certain pig of a martial artist and kicking his ass, but she knew that she'd been out of serious practice for far too long, and it wouldn't solve anything anyways. Shifting gears, she smirked. "Well, I guess that proves I've grown up since then." She muttered, sourly.

Still, the idea of Ryoga having kept his curse from Akane bothered her, and she didn't really know why. True, P-chan had been a severe violation of Akane's privacy, but that had been a long time ago and Ranko knew that without the pig, Ryoga was a mostly honorable man. No, what galled her was that he'd gotten Akane, not because she loved him in spite of what he'd done, but because he'd never had to face up to the consequences of his actions, while the consequences of other peoples' stared her in the face every time she took a hot shower. Of course, there was no point in grumbling about how unfair her life was. She'd gotten most of that out of her system years ago as well.

As she turned into the police station parking lot, she frowned. Kimiko was standing at the entrance to the building, tapping her foot impatiently. Ranko had worked with the other woman for long enough to know what that meant, and she didn't think she could deal with an angry Kimiko, for any reason, at the moment.

HR.

Ranko tried to walk into the Nerima police department's front lobby without having to deal with the impatiently tapping Kimiko, but the taller brown haired woman wouldn't have it. Falling into step with her partner, she said, "I want to talk to you."

"Not in the mood." Ranko responded, shortly.

Kimiko quirked an eyebrow, disbelieving. "You're not in the mood? You were happily taking that Hibiki girl home just an hour ago."

"To put it shortly, I found out that the guy who's married to the woman I love has been lying to her for almost ten years, and was made to promise not to tell her by her sister. Is that not in the mood enough for you?" Ranko growled.

"That's strange; you didn't seem to have a problem with lying to me for five years." Kimiko shot back, stopping the redhead in her tracks.

"What are you talking about?" Ranko demanded, irritated.

"I talked to an old woman by the name of Cologne, and she told me about something called Jusenkyo." The brown haired woman said, returning Ranko's irritated look with one of her own.

The redhead stopped, looking around the station nervously. Today had been pretty bad already, and the last thing she needed was to have her old curse brought up again. Sighing, she started walking towards the parking garage. "Come on." She demanded.

"Where are we going?" Kimiko asked.

"Somewhere where your mouth won't get me in trouble." Ranko grumbled.

HR.

"All right." Ranko said, leaning on the door of their patrol cruiser. "What'd the old ghoul tell you?"

Kimiko blinked, shocked. Ranko was decidedly not the most polite person around, but she'd never heard her use such a name before. "Isn't that impolite?"

Ranko shrugged. "She never stopped callin me son-in-law before I left, I don't stop callin her old ghoul." She volunteered.

Kimiko frowned, but shrugged. "She told me about how you were a martial artist and got cursed…" She stopped for a moment. "And how you were locked in your cursed form forever. Ranko, is she really telling the truth?"

Ranko leaned back, contemplating the stone roof of the parking structure for a moment. "Yeah, I guess she is." Laughing sharply, she continued. "I was Saotome Ranma, best martial artist in Nerima… for all the good it did me." Kimiko noticed that the redhead's words had turned sarcastic when she mentioned the "Best martial artist in Nerima" bit, but decided to get to her main point.

"So then… why didn't you tell me?" She continued on before Ranko could claim the excuse that Kimiko wouldn't believe her. "I mean, if you'd have told me about your past here, at least…" She stopped. What would it have changed? "You know I would have tried to help you." She finally said, softly.

Ranko shook her head. "You don't understand." She explained. "I didn't WANT to be here. I've got paperwork out to three different districts, but no one's responded." Her voice hitched. "I…" She stopped.

"You what?" Kimiko asked, gently.

"I didn't want to have to remember this place, let alone come here again!" Ranko cried, angrily lashing out at a nearby stone column. Lowering her fist again, she stared at the damage she'd caused. "I… I didn't want to have to remember them." She whispered.

Kimiko wanted to be surprised when she saw her partner's fist produce small cracks in the stone, but she'd been through enough weirdness today that it hardly ruffled her. Instead, she noticed that Ranko was shaking, as if trying to hold back tears.

"I… I'm sorry." She said, the righteous indignation she'd felt earlier at finding out that Ranko had held so much back from her fading away to be replaced by shame. At this point, she felt rather a lot like a heel. Walking over to her partner, she gently hugged her. "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories." She said, guiltily.

Ranko was about to shrug out of Kimiko's grip, to try and tell her that she was all right… or was she about to give in, to let her friend comfort her in her moment of need? Sadly, she would never know. It was at that moment that one of the parking garage's walls crumbled. The two women's heads shot around to the sound, seeing a bedraggled looking black haired man in his late twenties.

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" The man yelled, charging directly at Ranko.

HR.

In recent years, Ryoga Hibiki had been, if you could believe it, a rather peaceful man. There was a quite simple reason for this. The lost boy had been in a practical paradise for at least eight years now. He could still remember the happiest day of his life. That, of course, being the day he'd proffered a small ring box to Akane Tendo and the girl had accepted it. From then on, his life had been a sort of happy haze. True, he also remembered in vivid detail the day his curse was removed, and the day Umiko was born, but for the most part his life had been a blur of trekking across Japan, from the pyramids to the redwood forest, with his wife.

Unfortunately, his idyllic world had hit a rather large snag no more than thirty five minutes ago. He'd gotten momentarily separated from his wife, but hadn't let it worry him. They'd been apart for as much as a few weeks before, but always managed to find each other. He had started to worry, however, when he'd seen Akane in the Tendo home, looking sadly at her sister. His worry had gotten worse when he'd found out that she was sad because of… He hadn't even wanted to say the name, for fear that it would bring the person, but now that HE was back, it didn't matter. She was hurt by that bastard, Ranma Saotome.

Growling, the bandana clad man busted through yet another wall, some sixth sense drawing him towards a specific location. At one time, he had been on the edge of forgiving Ranma Saotome. Of thinking that, perhaps, he hadn't been the source of all of Ryoga's problems. It had only been when Ranma had been disposed of by that barrel of locking water when he'd realized that that had been a mistake. Funnily enough, everything HAD turned out to get better after Ranma'd gone away.

His curse had been cured, he'd found out that Akari was completely uninterested in him without it, and he'd somehow, someway, been lucky enough to marry Akane.

But now… Now, Ranma was back, and Ryoga would NOT let him take everything away again. Bursting through a brick wall that he was sure hadn't been there before, the pigheaded man saw a very familiar red pigtail. Snarling in vicious glee, he hoisted his umbrella up to charging position. "Ranma Saotome, Prepare to DIE!" He bellowed, pelting headlong at his target.

HR.

Ranko stood in shock for approximately half a second before she started to track the charging martial artist's trajectory. What this told her was that he was going to impale her with his umbrella, and probably tear through their police cruiser as well. Shoving Kimiko hard in order to get her clear of the debris that would result if the car was taken out, the police officer curled her legs underneath her and leapt, carrying her well clear of Ryoga's charge.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the sound of rending metal could be heard as Ryoga's umbrella tore through the metal and plastic of Ranko and Kimiko's cruiser. Quickly looking to the side, Ranko saw that the brown haired woman was unhurt, but confused, laying on the cement several feet away. Returning her sight to Ryoga, she saw him shrugging off the minor scratches the destroyed car had inflicted on him, and turning around with an enraged expression on his face. "Stop immediately!" She barked, though she was pretty sure that it would do no good.

Sure enough, Ryoga started charging again. Ranko knew, judging from the way the man had totaled the car, that he had been training some during her absence, and he had almost left her splattered across the ground. Reluctantly, she drew her Glock 19 pistol, aiming it with one hand as she didn't have time to get into proper firing position.

She managed to get off two 9mm NATO rounds, one into Ryoga's shoulder and the other into the right side of his chest, before he swung his umbrella furiously, knocking the weapon out of her hand and breaking several fingers in the process. Fortunately for her, the shot to his shoulder had apparently caused his arm to lock up, as the umbrella itself sailed in the same direction as the pistol from a suddenly open hand.

The redhead tried to dodge out of the way, ignoring the pain of her snapped fingers, but the pain of the shots that had slammed into his body had apparently snapped Ryoga back to something approaching reason, and she quickly found herself held by her uniform collar, slammed up against a column quite painfully. Ryoga's pained grimace turned into a sneer as he looked at her. "So, you're reduced to using firearms, are you?" He asked, shaking her. "That's not very honorable, Ranma."

Ranko knew that she shouldn't antagonize the guy who was holding her by the neck against a heavy piece of stone, but she really couldn't help what came next. "Who're you to talk about honor, pig boy?" She spat.

"Why you… How DARE you come back here and try to destroy my happiness again?!" Ryoga roared, shaking Ranko and causing her head to bang against the column several times.

Ranko laughed harshly, the pressure of the collar of her uniform pressing against her throat starting to affect her voice. "You really think I came back here deliberately, don't you pig?" She snarled. "You think I'm here to destroy your perfect little world, with your cute little kid, and your wife, and your lying pig self." As she said this, something in the redhead's eyes seemed to fade. An icy sheen that had been there for so long, she didn't even realize it anymore. For a split second, Ryoga saw the flames of an anger hotter than his could ever be, before the girl he was holding exploded.

HR.

Ryoga Hibiki was a much better martial artist than Ranko Sato. Ten years ago, the two had been on a somewhat equal footing, with Ranko, then known as Ranma, slightly ahead. But she'd spent ten years doing nothing more than weight training and sparring with people who, quite frankly, couldn't hold a candle to her in the skill department while he had spent the same amount of time training hard and wandering the world.

At the moment this didn't matter, as Ranko Sato wasn't fighting as a martial artist. She was a Chi powered fury, taking vengeance on what had triggered her wrath whether he deserved it or not. Kimiko Najisa didn't really know this. She'd been knocked out of the way of some psycho with an umbrella about a minute before, and was just recovering when she saw her partner explode into a bonfire. The bandana-wearing guy had been thrown away from Ranko, before the redhead's fiery aura coalesced into a point in her hands, and she let off a constant stream of it into his rapidly moving body.

To Kimiko, this beam looked wrong. No, not just in the sense that any energy beam being fired out of a human being's hands did, but in itself. It was a snapping, roiling mass of blue and teal, snapping at the air like a vicious beast. It made her uneasy just looking at it, and she could see that it was pushing the bandanaed guy into… and through… a solid wall that, if she remembered correctly, didn't have anything on the other side.

She didn't know what was going on, or what her partner was doing. One thing was for sure, though. She had to stop it before Ranko killed the guy in the bandana. As she pulled herself up off of the ground, she felt something odd holding her left arm and hand down. Desperate to get to her partner, she jerked sharply and her limb came free. Running over to Ranko's side, she stretched out one hand, uncaring that that beam of… something… was sending out tendrils to burn her skin, and slapped her in the face.

Ranko blinked, slowly, and the energy beam abruptly snapped off. "Kimiko?" She asked, her voice horse. "What… what happened?"

Kimiko sighed in relief, just grateful that whatever the hell had just happened had finally stopped. "I don't know." She said, shrugging. Right after she said that, Ranko tipped forward in a dead faint.

HR.

In an ambulance that was parked outside of the Nerima police station, a young medical tech looked over the prone form of the red haired policewoman in front of her. For the most part she looked fine, aside from some chafing around her throat, two broken fingers, and a minor contusion on the back of her head. Inspecting the rest of her body, she stopped at the hands. "Hmm…" She murmured, bending down to inspect some strange discolorations, and knowing better than to move the patient if she didn't have to.

It was odd. The red haired woman seemed to have a small first degree burn at the center of each palm, in an odd semi-circular shape.

"Mizuno, what are you doing?" Came a sharp voice, causing the girl to turn and see the stern face of the lead EMT.

"Sorry, I was just cataloguing her injuries." She said, quickly.

HR.

The Nerima District Police Station was surrounded with dozens of vehicles, lights playing off of the walls and windows from police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. About half of the emergency staff of the district had turned up. Given how few actual, life threatening disasters happened in Nerima, despite all of the martial arts duels, they had been prepared and practicing for an excuse to show off all of their colors for years.

Kimiko stood in the parking lot, watching as the bandanna wearing guy, who's name she'd found out was Ryoga, was loaded onto an ambulance across from the one that had loaded Ranko several minutes before.

The world seemed slightly fuzzy to her, and she watched uncertainly as a nurse walked up to her. "Ma'am, could you please come with me?"

"Huh?" Kimiko asked, confused. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, look after Ranko and that other guy."

The nurse frowned, raising a hand to call over a doctor. "Ma'am…" She started, slowly. "Have you… tried to move your left arm?"

Kimiko blinked. "Of course I have." She said, but then stopped. She'd caught Ranko in the crook of her right arm when she'd fainted, then set her down and called the paramedics on her cell phone, again with her right hand. Trying to flex her left arm, she felt nothing. "Wha…" she stammered, looking down to see that there was a large quantity of blood caking the left side of her uniform, and the sleeve was severely deformed.

"I believe she's in shock." The nurse said, calmly, when the doctor finally responded to her signal. Kimiko simply kept looking down at her ravaged arm. She couldn't feel anything, nothing at all…

END.

Note:Some of you may wonder why Ranko immediately went for her gun when Ryoga started attacking. the simple answer , as was stated in the chapter, is that she knows she can't take him hand to hand. Standard police procedure when a suspectt cannot be subdued without substantial injury to the officer is to use your firearm. Remember that Ranko is a police officer now, not a martial artist, and has been one for many years. Lucky the bullets didn't kill him.


	10. Chapter 10

Get back here! (Weebee runs across the screen, carrying a tranquilizer rifle.)

???:I saw it! The world's going to end, I tell you! Heheheheheh!

Misato: Damn it... hold her down. (Hissing noise.)

Weebee:I think we got her... Okay, folks. Sorry about that. I made the mistake of using my actual "NERV Bridge bunny" character models during a rather odd Omake, and now they're convinced that the world's ending. Aoba and Hyuga just vowed to start a music career and huddled at his desk, respectively, but as you can see Maya took it... badly. (Misato walks by, Maya hogtied and squirming over her shoulder.) Ahem... Well, On with the show, please review.

Maya: Why won't you listen to me!!! It's coming!!! The smile, My god, the sm....(Crashing noise.)

Chapter 10, Consequences.

The Tendo household was quiet as the three sisters and one younger child ate, the only sounds those of the occasional conversation and the television that was on in the other room. "Do you think Ryoga will be back soon?" Akane asked, worriedly. She didn't want her husband to go hungry, and she knew that it could take her a week to find him again.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon." Kasumi said, comfortingly, as she set a bowl of dessert in front of Umiko, who dug in hungrily. Any response Nabiki may have wanted to make was interrupted as the house's phone rang. Kasumi frowned for a second, muttering something about finally unplugging that thing, before her younger sister gestured for her to sit back down and went to answer it herself.

"I just hope he doesn't find Ranma." Akane said, annoyed. She'd never figured out why the two fought so much, but with how he'd growled before running off, it was likely that he'd come back beaten and angry, as he had most of the time back when Ranma was in Nerima, or that Ranma would be beaten for once and go on some vengeance based training trip.

Umiko, who had just come up for air from 'enjoying' her dessert, looked at her mother in confusion. "Mom, who's Ranma?"

"He was here earlier tonight, Umiko-chan." Akane responded, without thinking.

"But…" Umiko said, confused. "The only one here earlier was Ranko-san." Akane frowned, slightly uncomfortably, and the room lapsed into a short silence. It was broken moments later as Nabiki came back, her face visibly paler than it had been before.

"Oh my, Nabiki, what's wrong?" Kasumi asked, concerned. Nabiki didn't speak, noticing something on the television and picking up the remote from the coffee table. Increasing the volume, she indicated for her sisters to watch.

"…olice station in the Nerima district was attacked earlier tonight. Reports are sketchy as the only two witnesses are still in hospital, however, from what we can gather a deranged man entered the station from the parking garage, and threatened officers with a weapon. Two officers were injured, one severely, attempting to arrest him. The man is now in Juuban General Hospital, his identity has not been released to the public."

The other residents of the house looked at Nabiki, confused as she turned off the television. The looks in their eyes demanded an explanation. "That 'deranged man' was Ryoga." She explained, simply. "I'm guessing he found Ranma."

Akane looked at her sister oddly, wondering why she was so nervous. True, it was odd that Ranma would slip enough to let those two civilians get hurt, but she didn't see the big deal. "Why are you so worried, Nabiki?" She asked.

Nabiki opened and closed her mouth several times, a dumbfounded look on her face. It appeared that she was about to burst into a screaming fit right there, but to her credit, she glanced over at Umiko and bit back the rant. Leaving the room and heading into the front hall, she motioned Akane to follow her with her right hand.

As the former youngest Tendo followed her sister into the hallway, Nabiki rounded on her. "Are you insane?" She demanded, acidly.

Akane just looked at her, not comprehending. "What do you mean, Nabiki?" She asked.

Nabiki just pointed a trembling finger in the general direction of the TV. "I just told you that your husband attacked a police station and you ask me why I'm so worried?!" She choked. Akane's continued obliviousness made the middle sister seriously wonder if she was adopted. Growling in annoyance, she merely walked back into the main room. "Kasumi, Akane and I are going to visit our idiot of a brother in law."

"You know where dad went?" Umiko asked, excitedly.

Nabiki cursed herself for not thinking before speaking, but she consoled herself with the fact that she was in a tense situation. "Umiko-chan, your mom and I have to go by ourselves, okay?" She said, patiently. Unfortunately, she saw the young girl firming up her jaw. She knew that expression. It was one that Akane, Ranma and Ryoga had all had in common.

"If dad's in the hospital, I'm going to see him!" The little girl said, stomping her foot.

Nabiki threw a look to Kasumi, who was infinitely better with kids than she was, but the older Tendo shrugged. "Perhaps she should go and see Ryoga-kun. I'm sure he'll be grateful to see her.

Seeing no way out, Nabiki shrugged. She liked Umiko, but she wasn't her mother, and Nabiki had turned out just fine after seeing her mother die and her father fall completely apart at around the same age. "Come on." She said, as she led the small group out to the backyard, where her tiny car was stored.

HR.

Ranko looked at the doctor who was standing next to her bed as if he was a random shoplifter. "So, you're telling me that I can't go and see Kimiko." She said, slowly.

"I'm sorry Miss Sato, but you could have injuries to your skull and spine. We can't let you move until we get a set of x-rays and a CT scan done, and the lab's full at the moment." He explained, for the third time. Personally, he thought that she shouldn't be allowed to get up anyways, since her eyes were slightly blurry and she'd been pretty wobbly the one time she'd tried it. "Look, like I said, Miss Najisa's injuries are relatively straight forward, and she will be fine. Now please, let us treat you."

Ranko frowned. "You know I could just sign myself out, right?" She demanded.

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance before turning to the door and whispering something to a nurse, who quickly hurried down the hall. The two engaged in a staring contest for the next thirty seconds, until the nurse returned with a clipboard. The doctor read it over, and cleared his throat. "Miss Sato, it appears that Miss Najisa is stable and ready to move. Since you're in a double room with no second occupant, we will move her in here. Is that good enough for you?"

Ranko sighed, but nodded before letting her head fall back onto her pillow. Her head felt vaguely like she'd been run through a blender, so staying where she was and waiting for Kimiko wasn't sounding like that bad an idea.

HR.

The mixed Tendo and Hibiki family trooped into the small hospital room, past a guard who was standing at the door, and saw a man who was heavily bandaged. He was strapped into his bed. "What's with the straps?" Akane demanded, instantly turning her glare towards the black haired woman, Ryoga's doctor, who had led them into the room.

She sighed. "It's in his medical profile. If Mr. Hibiki sustains injuries that would be life threatening if he left the hospital without treatment, he is to be kept immobile." She shook her head. "I don't see the need for the note, given that he's going to be unconscious for quite a while."

"Oh, is that due to the blow to his forehead or the sedative you've given him for the pain of the gunshots?" Kasumi asked, her quick eye covering the man in only a few seconds. As usual, she spoke in a semi-cheerful voice, not seeming to realize what a bombshell she'd just dropped.

Fortunately, Umiko had been asked to wait outside for the first few minutes of her family's visit with her father for this very reason. Unfortunately, Akane hadn't. "They shot my husband?" She demanded, angrily.

"One of the bullets went into his shoulder, and the other into his chest. The injuries don't seem to be lethal, though." Kasumi responded, calmly inclining her head toward the doctor for confirmation of her statement. The doctor distantly wondered why she was here, since the eldest Tendo was doing this part of her job for her, if a little tactlessly, before nodding. Deciding to step in, she spoke up.

"Actually, he will be unconscious for a time due to the fact that we had to conduct some surgery. Several of his ribs were broken, and the fragments were in dangerous locations." She hastened to reassure the family as Akane's face turned grey. "Don't worry, we extracted all of the bone fragments, and Mr. Hibiki should make an almost complete recovery."

"Almost?" Nabiki asked, calmly.

The doctor hesitated for a moment, before sighing. "I'm afraid the bullet went through his shoulder at the joint. Some of the damage is repairable, however we may need to replace the joint with a prosthetic."

Kasumi gasped, putting a hand up to her mouth. Nabiki looked worried at the cost of the procedure, and Akane looked at the doctor. "What does that mean, precisely?" She asked.

"It means that we may have to replace one of the bones in your husband's shoulder. The replacement won't be quite as strong as the original, but he should have reasonably good range of movement." The doctor explained.

"How likely is this?" Nabiki asked.

The doctor just shook her head. "There's no way to tell at the moment, unfortunately."

"Will he be able to practice his art?" Akane asked.

The woman shrugged. "It depends. If he's a practitioner of the martial arts, yes, he could continue practicing, but I'd advise against it. The wear and tear on the joint could be pretty severe, and he wouldn't be able to hold much weight on that arm."

"I see." Akane said, softly, before walking over to her husband and resting one hand worriedly on his bandaged chest. The soft rising and falling of his breaths reassured her, but his unmoving eyelids also made her nervous.

HR.

After Umiko had been let in to see her father and 'visited' his unconscious form for several minutes, the family exited Ryoga's room, starting to head for the hospital's front entrance. They were all silent, though for different reasons. Akane and Umiko were both worried about Ryoga and trying to think of ways to take their minds off of him temporarily. Kasumi was just observing the place carefully, and Nabiki was worried about something else completely. Oh, she was worried about her brother-in-law's condition, but she'd noticed the grim faced, uniformed police officer that had been standing at Ryoga's room's entrance. This meant something very bad indeed. As she considered how much of an effect this would have on both the Tendo family checkbook, as well as Akane and Umiko, she was distracted by a surprised cry from the latter.

"Hey, that's Kimiko-san!" The little girl said, jumping down from the chair she was standing on and dashing after a stretcher that was being wheeled down the hall in front of her.

"Umiko-chan, wait!" Akane called, running after her daughter as the little girl, and the bed, turned into a room. Reluctantly, Kasumi and Nabiki followed.

"Hey, Akane." Came the voice of a rather distant seeming red haired woman, as the Hibiki woman entered the two patient observation room with her daughter. The doctors who had brought Kimiko's bed in just ignored this, starting to set it up.

"R…Ranma?" Akane asked, shocked, as she came to a halt.

"Ranko-san, what happened?" The little girl asked, running up to Ranko's bed and looking her over almost as worriedly as she had her father a few minutes earlier.

"I'm fine, Umiko-chan." The redhead said, reaching out with her less bandaged left hand and patting the little girl on the shoulder. "Someone just got a little violent." Looking to the side where Kimiko was, she saw that the other woman was asleep, an IV bag pumping pain killers into a heavily cast-covered and bandaged left arm. "I'm sure Kimiko'll be okay, too."

"It was dad, wasn't it?" The little girl asked, her mother still slightly shocked to see Ranma in a hospital bed, bandages covering both arms and the back of her head. True, she'd seen it before, but this suddenly seemed… more serious, somehow.

Ranko looked uncomfortably at Umiko, unsure of what to say. She was pretty sure "Yeah, Ryoga bashed my head against a stone piller and broke my partner's arm" was a bad thing to say, but… Oh, wait. Judging from the shocked expressions on both Akane and Umiko's faces, she'd just said that. "Sorry." She said, quickly. "Didn't mean to say that out loud." She reached up to her head with her left hand, rubbing carefully at the section of the back that the bandage covered. "Not really thinkin straight."

The three conscious people in the room fell into an uncomfortable silence, before Nabiki and Kasumi walked in. Apparently the doctors who had put Kimiko in place had finally realized that it was their job to stop random people from entering patients' rooms, and it had taken some quick talking to get past them.

Looking quickly between the shocked Umiko, Akane and the sheepish looking Ranko, Nabiki sighed. "Could you take Umiko to get a snack at the cafeteria, Kasumi?" She asked, resigned.

The eldest Tendo nodded, ushering her objecting niece out of the room, before Nabiki slumped tiredly down on a chair next to Ranko's bed. "All right." She said, getting directly to the point. "What's Ryoga looking at, and is there any way to mitigate it?"

Ranko looked at her, smirking. "Gee, I'm glad you're so worried about Me 'n Kimiko." She quipped, just a little anger in her voice.

Nabiki sighed. "I am, Ranko." She confided, quickly shooting a glance back at Akane and the door that Umiko had exited through. "I'm more worried about my sister and her daughter, though."

Akane interrupted. "Nabiki, is now the best time to question him?" She demanded.

Ranko shook her head. "I'm fine. Besides, I'm supposed ta stay awake. May as well answer Nabiki's questions." She said. Concentrating, she continued after clearing what seemed to be a whole cloud of fog out of her head. "Ryoga could end up with… Damage of public property, assault with a deadly weapon, assaulting a police officer… and maybe attempted murder. Could get depraved indifference, too, I think."

"Murder?!" Akane yelled, shocked. "Why would you charge him with murder?" Her shocked expression turned to one of anger, as she turned a glair on the redhead.

Next to her, in the chair, Nabiki was just looking very grey and rubbing her temple.. hard.

Ranko sighed. "You don't get it, 'kane. They're gunna ask for my statement, and when I tell 'em that he came smashing through the wall calling for my blood it's gunna be pretty well inevitable."

"But… can't you just not tell them that?" Akane asked, in a small voice. She didn't want to think about Ryoga being charged with attempted murder. More accurately, she didn't want to think about Ryoga trying to kill someone, but the evidence that SOMETHING uncontrolled had happened was lying on the two beds in front of her.

Ranko gave her a very hard glare, shocking the Hibiki woman again. "Yer not asking me to lie to them, are you?"

"Well, I…" Akane stuttered, Ranko's glare pinning her to her spot.

"If I were to lie to get Ryoga off the murder charge, Kimiko wouldn't tell the same story as I do, guaranteed." She snorted. "I'd probably lose my badge, and maybe get thrown in jail myself."

"We aren't asking you to do that." Nabiki reassured, quickly. "I'm just trying to figure out how to limit the damage to my family.

Ranko shrugged. "Get him to say he's nuts." She said, simply.

Akane was beginning to look outraged again, but Nabiki was nodding slowly. "You're sure there's no other way?" She said.

"Look, Nabs. Even if I were willin to cut pig boy some slack," Ranko started, not noticing Nabiki's sharp glare and Akane's confused expression, "I couldn't. About half those charges, including the attempted murder and assaulting a police officer ones, I've got no control over, and those're the ones he'll get in the most trouble for." She shrugged. "Not to mention what Kimiko'll do when she wakes up."

"Kimiko, is she all right?" nabiki asked, suddenly reminded of the other woman in the room as Akane hovered in a confused state between fuming and wanting to cry.

"The docs say she'll be all right. It was only a couple breaks and a pinched nerve." Ranko said, sounding worried. "I just wish she'd wake up."

Nabiki just nodded, before leading her conflicted sister out of the room. "I want to talk to you again later, Sato." She said, pulling the door shut behind her.

HR.

As the two sisters walked down the hall away from Ranko's room, looking for Kasumi and Umiko, they saw a rather annoyed looking man in a police uniform heading up the other way. "Hello, Chief Aido." Nabiki greeted, nodding briefly at him.

"Miss Tendo." He returned, as he passed.

Akane's eyes widened as she recognized that name. Nabiki had taken their father's chair on the town council when he'd 'retired,' and had talked about the man before. "That's the police chief, right, Nabiki?" At her sister's confirming nod, she gulped. "This is really serious, isn't it?" She asked, the full impact of the events of the night coming down on her at once.

Nabiki sighed. "Afraid so, sis." She muttered, before the two continued on their way.

END.

Okay folks, that was chapter 10. I hope all of those people with the "Kill Ryoga" signs on my front lawn will GO AWAY NOW!!!

Anyhow, I should REALLY go to bed now. Thanks to James Axelrad for letting me post this one day earlier than I would have otherwise. Everyone, give him a round of aplause!


	11. Chapter 11

Well, i'm extremely tired... Kinda slow chapter, enjoy anyhow...

Yeah... Sleep now.

Chapter 11, Just Visiting.

Chief Aido looked into the hospital room, frowning at the two injured officers inside. Granted, this was Nerima and it had a very high turnover rate, but that was usually due more to mental breakdowns. Usually, the martial artists knew that the police were not to be messed with, just as the police knew the same about the martial artists.

"Hello, sir." Ranko said, causing the man to start a little in surprise. Both women had looked asleep.

"Officer Sato." He said, walking further into the room and sitting down on the chair next to Ranko's bed, with a good vantage point on both.

"I didn't think anyone was coming to take my statement until tomorrow." Ranko said. Her voice seemed to be dripping over with tiredness, but she propped herself up against the pillow of her bed, wincing as she accidentally put pressure on the splint covered broken fingers of her right hand.

"That's not what I'm here for." The older man said, frowning slightly. "This sort of thing, well, it doesn't happen very often in this district. I wanted to make sure that both of you are all right."

Ranko looked slightly surprised, but nodded. "I'm fine." She said and then looked over at the other bed. "Not sure about Kimiko, though. God, I hope she's just under from the sedatives."

"If it helps, they told me that she didn't have any head injuries." The older man offered, unsure of what to say, before sighing and leaning back in his seat. Seeing that Ranko's worried look didn't diminish, he suddenly understood. "This," He made an expansive gesture, "Isn't your fault, Sato." He said, gruffly.

Ranko shook her head. "I should have been able to stop Hibiki." She grumbled. "Should have lined up those bullets for the middle of his brain."

The chief didn't really know what to say to that. It was, in fact, police procedure to shoot to kill in such situations as that Ranko had been in, but the idea of encouraging someone to blow another human being's head off had always seemed abhorrent to him. He was pretty sure that that, along with several other unconventional ideas he'd had over the years, had been the major reasons that he'd been assigned to Nerima so long ago.

"…I don't think you really mean that." He said, finally. At least, the Ranma Saotome he'd known ten years ago, when he'd only been a patrolman, wouldn't.

Ranko frowned as she thought about it. "You're probably right." She finally admitted with a sigh, as her doctor walked into the room, smiling.

"Guess what, Miss Sato. the CT scanner is finally free, and we can move you in now." He said, in a cheerful yet professional voice. He stopped as he felt the serious air that he'd just interrupted, looking kind of uncomfortable. "Am I intruding on something?"

"No, your ok doc." Ranko said, turning towards him. "Will this mean I can get some sleep soon?" She asked, yawning slightly.

The doctor's smile returned as the former mood of the room changed slightly. "Don't worry, you should be back in under an hour."

"I will talk to you in the morning, Miss Sato." Chief Aido said, standing. Turning to the doctor, he continued. "Inform me if Miss Najisa wakes up, would you please?"

"Yes, of course." The man said, as Ranko's bed was wheeled out of the room.

HR.

Nabiki frowned as the depressed atmosphere floated around the inside of her car. Kasumi and Umiko were acting normally given what had happened, but Akane was radiating a Shi Shi hokodan level emotion if Nabiki's less than incredible powers of aura observation could pick it up. "Hey Akane, how about we stop off at Ucchan's before we go home." The middle Tendo offered, hoping to break the tension slightly.

Akane didn't comment, but Umiko did, perking up instantly. "We're gunna go see Aunt Ukyo and Uncle 'Natsu?" She asked, bouncing excitedly. She wanted something to take her own mind off of what Ranko-san had said in the hospital, and seeing some of Konatsu's ninja tricks was always fun.

"Well, I guess…" Akane said, looking over at her daughter in the back seat with a slight smile. "If Umiko wants to."

"Great." Nabiki said, pulling the car to the side of the road in the small shopping district where Ukyo's restaurant was located. Luckily, Ucchan's was open pretty late now, and especially for friends. She smirked slightly, as the memories of ten years ago, when Ranma had been here, mingled with that thought. 'Who'd have thought we'd consider Ukyo a friend?' She thought.

Opening the door, she led the group into the small shop. This would take a nick out of her wallet, especially if Akane wasn't carrying any money, which was almost always the case, but she grit her teeth and bared it.

"Hey, everyone." Konatsu said, looking up from cleaning a table. "What are all of you doing here so late?"

"We aren't imposing, are we?" Kasumi asked, concerned.

"No, of course not. I'm just curious." The male Kunoichi said, sticking his cloth into his Kimono and making it vanish thanks to some of Mousse's tricks that he'd learned a while back. "Ukyo-sama's still in the back, but I'm sure she won't mind you coming to visit."

Nabiki smirked. "Still calling her that, I see." She said. "Is she going to have to hit you upside the head with her spatula before you just call her Ukyo?"

"She's tried that, I'm afraid." Konatsu responded, in a falsely serious voice.

All four of the visitors giggled when Ukyo came out of the back room, holding her giant spatula and tapping her waitress gently on the cheek with it. "Afraid it doesn't work." She said, sliding in at the grill. "So, what brings you guys here, and why'd you look so down when you first came in?"

They told her. "Wait," she interrupted. "Ryoga attacked a police station? What set him off this time? I mean, I know he's got a temper, but he's been a lot better since Ran-chan left."

Akane looked vaguely annoyed at that temper comment, but Nabiki started to explain. "Ukyo, Ranko works as a police officer, and was transferred here recently."

Ukyo blinked. She knew that Ranko was what Ranma had been calling himself ever since the curse locked, and if he was one of the police Ryoga had attacked, things made a lot more sense. "So where's Ran-chan now?" She asked, finally.

"She's at the hospital." Kasumi explained. "The doctors needed to treat a few minor injuries."

"Kimiko-san's there too." Umiko interjected, causing Ukyo to look questioningly at Kasumi.

"Ranko-san's partner." The eldest Tendo explained, quietly.

"Then I've got to go visit!" Ukyo decided, immediately.

"Ukyo-san, you know that she's still…" The eldest Tendo reminded, unsure of what the chef was thinking.

"I'm not going to see him, erm, I guess her, for anything like that!" Ukyo said, indignantly. "I'm a married woman. Ranchan's still one of my friends, though."

"And you're going to say sorry for the spatula incident." Nabiki said, smirking evilly.

"Well, that too." Ukyo said, blushing slightly.

Confused, Umiko looked between the adults, finally turning to Konatsu. "What's the spatula incident?" She asked, innocently.

"I'll tell you when you're older." He replied, deadpan. Truthfully, he was lying through his teeth. Somehow, he wasn't sure that Umiko would look at her aunt Ukyo the same way if she knew she'd almost beaten someone to death with a giant spatula… twice.

HR.

Kimiko awoke to a steady throbbing in her left arm, and the desire to go back to sleep. Cracking her eyes open, she saw a white tiled ceiling that she didn't recognize. Looking around slightly by moving her head, as trying to sit up made the pain in her arm about ten times worse, she saw a set of tubes pumping something into her arm. Across the room from her, she saw Ranko, laying in a bed of her own with a tray of what appeared to be breakfast in front of her.

Hearing the other woman move, the redhead turned her own head towards her and sighed in relief. "So, you're finally awake." She said, smiling. "I was getting worried when you didn't wake up yesterday."

"I wish I wasn't." Kimiko confided. "My arm feels like it's been crushed by a couple tons."

"Well, it was." Ranko replied, unthinking. Seeing Kimiko's disbelieving stare, she continued. "Ryoga's umbrella's pretty heavily weighted. Not actually a couple of tons, but still about a hundred kilos.

"Ryoga, that was the guy's name, huh?" Kimiko asked.

"Yeah." Ranko said, slowly. A few seconds later, she said something else. "Look, I'm sorry I got you into this situation."

Kimiko blinked at her. "Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, trying to remember the details of the events that had brought her here in her head. She knew that some guy had charged out of the wall, yelling for Ranko to die, but other than that things were a bit hazy. She was pretty sure she'd taken a blow to the head, too, since she actually remembered her partner firing a beam of energy at the guy, Ryoga.

"It was me Ryoga was after." Ranko said, simply. "If I hadn't been around, or if I'd taken him down faster, you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Saying this, the redhead broke eye contact with Kimiko, staring at the wall across the room.

Kimiko couldn't deny that Ranko actually had a point, but she wasn't stupid enough to say it, at least without something to take some of the sting out of the blow. "Well, I guess we're pretty well even." She said, finally.

"Huh?" Ranko asked, it now being her turn to be completely mystified.

"Well, we both know it was probably me who got us transferred here in the first place." The brown haired woman said, chuckling a little. "Besides, you can pay me back if you tell me what was up with that guy that made him want to kill you."

Ranko wanted to object, but realizing that she didn't really have a good, explainable reason to do so, she sighed. "Ryoga was after me for a while when I was younger." She started, after pressing the call button by her bed to tell the nurses that Kimiko was awake.

In her own bed, Kimiko settled down for some heavy duty listening. She was finally going to get answers.

HR.

Breakfast at the Tendo home was quiet this morning. Umiko had already gone to school, having had her quick slice of toast a full half hour before, and Nabiki was busily looking through the local directory, trying to find a lawyer that was cheap and still good enough to convince a jury that Ryoga Hibiki was insane. She'd called in to work sick. They'd complained of course, but she'd made them more money in the last four years than half of her department, so she'd just dismissed said complaints and gone back to her current task.

"Nabiki?" Akane asked, sitting down heavily on the seat across from her sister's after her morning workout was complete. Idly, Nabiki noticed that Kasumi had taken to tying Akane's wrist with a thin rope that lead to a nail on the kitchen door.

"Yeah, sis?" The middle Tendo asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I still don't understand, why do we have to convince everyone that Ryoga-kun's insane." The youngest sister asked, frustrated.

Nabiki looked up at her with a half-lidded stare. "He attacked a police station and nearly killed two officers." She said, for the tenth time so far. "Personally, I always thought that Ryoga was a little nuts to begin with, and this pretty well proves it."

"But…" Akane started, her view of the world trying to make one last, desperate rally against the cold, hard logic that had begun to intrude. "He was just…"

Nabiki sighed. "Stop it, Akane. Your husband did something incredibly stupid, and criminally wrong. The sooner you accept that, and help me try and mitigate the consequences to you and Umiko, the better." She knew she sounded harsh, but she was tired. She had barely gotten any sleep since the night before.

Akane reluctantly nodded, her depression from the night before coming back ten fold. "Nabiki… I'm scared." She whispered, softly.

The slightly older woman sighed again, putting down the directory and enfolding her younger sister in a clumsy hug. "I know sis, I know." She said, comfortingly, desperately wishing that Kasumi was here.

HR.

"…and then Ukyo and Mousse showed up." Ranko said, wincing at the memory of the end of her story. She'd gone straight through from the very first day in Nerima to the end, and it was approaching two hours by this point.

"Ukyo, that's the one with the giant spatula, right?" Kimiko asked, not quite believing that she had said that.

"Yeah, that would be me, sugar." Came another voice, as a brown haired woman in a blue shirt and black slacks came walking through the door, accompanied by a nurse who was carrying a tray of breakfast to Kimiko's bed.

Ukyo winced as she saw that Ranko was setting herself up for a fight as best she could, and was trying to slip off of her bed. "Relax, Ran-chan. I don't have the spatula with me today." She said, showing her empty hands.

Ranko sighed and leaned back again, causing Kimiko's eyebrow to rise, as she wondered what would make Ranko go on edge so fast.

"So, why are you here, Ukyo?" Ranko asked, finally.

Ukyo sighed, walking over to the chair at the side of the room and sitting there as Konatsu walked in behind her. "I just heard you were back, wanted to see how you were doing." She said, quietly.

Ranko's eyebrow rose, but she didn't say anything, as Ukyo bowed forward slightly in her chair. "I'd also like to apologize for the… incident… before you left." She finished. "I wasn't thinking very straight, and…"

"What incident?" Kimiko asked, curiously, as she dug into her breakfast. Beside her, the nurse fussed over the equipment that was still attached to her after assisting her in getting into position to eat.

"When I told her the curse was locked and I probably wouldn't be able to turn back." Ranko explained. "She didn't take it too well."

Ukyo looked at the redhead in disbelief. "Didn't take it too well? I beat you to within an inch of your life and sent you flying!" She exclaimed.

"Was tryin to be diplomatic." Ranko said, shrugging. "Besides, almost everyone had a shot at me back then, figured it was your turn."

Ukyo just looked at the redhead, wondering if she'd sustained brain damage in Ryoga's attack. If she had, the pig boy would end up on the end of her spatula, hospital or not. "You're serious?"

Ranko nodded. "Yeah, though…" She stopped for a moment. "Your dad DID re-instate you as a girl, right?"

Ukyo blinked. "Yes…" She said, slowly, wondering what Ranko was talking about. Her father had phoned her up a few months after Ranko's disappearance, babbling something about the family honor not meaning as much as his daughter and she'd been placed back on her family's register in her rightful position.

"Good, then you ain't getting off nearly as easy if you try the spatula thing again." Ranko replied.

Ukyo took a moment to process this, then she blinked. She blinked again. "You mean you…"

Kimiko looked between the two, confused and wondering what they were talking about, before Ukyo burst out of her chair, running over and hugging Ranko fiercely, much to the nurse's dismay.

"Ow, Ukyo! Lemme go! Air…" Ranko gasped, before the other woman leaned away, blushing. "I guess this means I'm forgiven, then?" She asked, hopefully.

"Ranchan, you jackass." Ukyo replied, shaking her head as the nurse pushed her away to check Ranko for injuries. "Of course."

"Glad to hear it." Ranko said, before smiling as she reassured the nurse that everything was ok. "At least some of the people 'round here are glad I'm here."

Looking over at Konatsu, who had perched ever-so lightly on the end of her bed, Kimiko asked, "Is this normal for her?"

He simply smiled as his Ukyo-sama and her old friend got acquainted again.

END.


	12. Chapter 12, I want a new job…

Okay, folks. Here's another chapter. My last fic update didn't go over too well, (6 reviews total,) and then I had to publish something that was guaranteed to earn me at least a few WTFs, which I knew starting out,, so… gah, what the hell? Stop whining, weebee. Anyhow, here's the chapter. Hope you enjoy, don't forget to review, and you can thank JRA for constantly bugging me about it. Now, james, please put down the bloody Mosburg. Thank you.

Chapter 12, I want a new job…

Kimiko stared at the computer in front of her, her eyelids glazing slightly as she scrolled through the station's evidence lists, checking inventory data with a lethargic attitude that could be recognized and sympathized with by anyone who had been lost in a maze of spreadsheets for far too many hours.

At the moment, she almost wished to be back in the hospital room that she'd been confined to for the past week and a half. Then again, given that Ranko had been discharged only two days into her stay and could only show up during visiting hours after that, at least here she had mind numbing figures to stare at rather than an unfamiliar ceiling or bad daytime sitcoms.

Tapping a button on the keyboard with her un-restricted right arm, she cursed herself for refusing the three weeks leave the department had offered, but her eyes snapped up as she heard the sound of the chief's office door swinging open, thumping against the wall next to it.

Seeing her redheaded partner stomping out of the room, the only remnants of her hospital stay being the bandages and splints on her hands that surrounded her remaining injured fingers and burns, Kimiko gulped at the scowl that dominated her face. "Ranko, what's the matter?" She asked, though instantly regretted the question as the other woman's murderous expression turned towards her. "Um, was it something I did?" She asked, worried about the glare.

Ranko blinked at her once, then shook her head. "Nah, Kimiko. Nothin you did." She explained, walking over to the station's front desk where the other woman was sitting. "Chief Aido just told me some stuff I'm not too happy about."

"Oh?" Kimiko's eyebrows rose. "Did he put you onto desk duty, too?" She asked, momentarily entertaining a mental image of her technophobic friend desperately trying to find the 'any' key on the keyboard. She wanted to snicker, but decided against it due to Ranko's previous murderous expression.

The redhead sighed, leaning against the desk. "Nah, it's not quite as bad as what happened to you." She said, throwing her friend a sympathetic glance. "He's reassigned me, though. Apparently, the old ghoul told him some stuff about that attack I used ta down Ryoga… Somethin about bein emotionally unstable." She snorted, trying to dismiss the thought. "Anyhow, the chief insists I go on light duty, and see a psychologist. Says he won't put me on full patrols again 'till I'm certified 'mentally healthy.'"

"A psychologist?" Kimiko asked, blinking. She'd honestly never thought Ranko would go to a place like that. "And what kind of light duty are you being assigned to, if not a desk job?"

Ranko looked at her levelly, and said two words. "Parking Enforcement." After that, she grimaced. "Also, I've apparently got to give speeches at schools. What's next, back 'ta serving tea?"

Kimiko stopped dead in her almost automatic spread sheet scrolling, one eyebrow traveling half way up to her hairline, before she snorted softly and started snickering.

"Gee, thanks." Ranko muttered, sullenly. "I see my partner's bein all emotionally supportive."

Kimiko shrugged. "Sorry, it's just…" She trailed off. "Look, I know you wanted that job about as much as I wanted this desk one." It was true. Both of them had always rankled under the usual tasks that were given to female officers, Ranko because of reasons Kimiko now knew and herself because she'd spent a lot of time in other countries when young, and hadn't picked up a lot of the traditional Japanese attitude.

Thinking for a moment, she then smiled. "How about we go out for lunch before you get consigned to your punishment?"

As Ranko's scowling expression lightened up slightly, Kimiko was glad. "You sure you've got the time?"

Kimiko just shrugged it off. "It's my lunch break soon, anyways. Don't worry about it." Reaching forward, she typed in commands relatively quickly on the computer for someone using only one hand, saving her progress in her current document and closing it out. Pushing a button near her chair that signified that she was going off shift, she pulled herself out of it.

Unfortunately, she seemed to forget that she had a broken left arm, and as she put some weight on the casted appendage, she slid to the side. Ranko moved instantly, catching and stabilizing her. "Yeash, 'n the chief says I'm the one who needs my head examined." The redhead quipped, smirking very slightly.

Kimiko just grimaced at her, as she was helped to her feet. "Let's just go get something to eat, all right?"

HR.

Ranko stood on the street in front of a wide, two floored building with a tower in its center. It looked like dozens upon dozens of similarly constructed school buildings all over Tokyo, though this one had a unique weathered appearance, as if it had withstood the firebombings of the Second World War without flinching. Given some of the stories she'd heard from the older staff, she wouldn't be surprised if it had.

"Somewhere up there, someone's laughing at me." She muttered, irritated, playing her eyes over the large sign that was affixed to the wall next to the front gates. In proud, though badly scuffed Katakana, it read "Furinkan High School." Fortunately, this time Kuno wasn't out front of the place, and she thanked all that was holy that he wasn't.

Walking across the front yard, she looked around and noticed that the place hadn't changed much. Some of the trees had grown a bit, but other than that it appeared to be the Mecca of martial arts insanity it had always been. She idly wondered who was doing all of the fighting now.

Walking into the front hall, she looked around for the teacher who would guide her to the class where she was to speak, nervously tapping at the breast pocket where her notes were stored. She was reasonably sure there was supposed to be some form of training course for this sort of thing, but Chief Aido had nervously informed her that no one with the training had ever been insa----determined enough to stay around Nerima.

She'd just laughed, though she'd wanted to kill him at the time. "I don't see any teachers…" She mumbled, scanning across the few students who were walking the halls during classes. As she said that, her now quite rusty danger sense sent her a warning. She tried to obey it, but was hit with an unpredictable tackle hug from behind before she could react. "Saotome-san!" Came a joyous female voice, as she was almost knocked off balance by the glomp.

'Shampoo?' Ranko thought, but shook that off. Though she hadn't been glomped in quite a long time, this one felt far too unprofessional to be an Amazon class attack. Turning her head to look slightly over her shoulder, she blinked into the eyes of a fifteen year old brown haired girl. "Um, miss, do I know you?" She asked, trying to extricate herself from the hug.

"Oh, you're pretending you don't recognize me! You were always such a delinquent!" The girl complained, letting go and backing up to reveal that she was wearing a slightly loose yellow dress, which still showed her budding figure reasonably well.

'Delinquent?' Ranko thought, then blinked. "Miss Hinako?" She asked, gaping at the teenager.

"I knew you'd eventually recognize me!" The girl said, clapping her hands. "It's so nice to see one of my old students again." Then, she stopped to look Ranko over and raised her eyebrow. "You became a police officer?"

Ranko shrugged. "It's a long story." She said, not wanting to get into it right now. She'd already told most of her life story to Kimiko a week before, and didn't really feel like doing it again.

"Oh, well that's fine." Hinako chirped, happily. "You're the officer Chief Aido sent over to talk to my class, right? Oh, it's so great to see you, Ranma-san."

Ranko blinked. "I, um, thought you hated me when I was in school here. Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you called me Ranko, or Miss Sato, if ya don't mind… a lot less awkward." She said, having pretty well given up on trying to deny being Ranma by this point.

"Oh, you don't know!" Hinako exclaimed. "Well, it seems all the energy I got while you and your friends were at school helped me out quite a bit, and the fighting fish, too. It actually helped me grow up a little." She smiled slightly. "The doctors say that if I can get that kind of energy again, I could grow to my real form's age in a few years."

"That's great." Ranko said, smiling for one of the very few times since the incident with Ryoga. "Glad somethin good came outa all that stuff."

Hinako nodded. "All right, 'Miss Sato,' shall we go and scare my group of delinquents into behaving?" She giggled, causing Ranko to sweat drop slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so." The older seeming redhead said, vaguely feeling as if she'd joined the other side in some secret war.

HR.

Well, that didn't go as bad as I thought it would." Ranko mumbled, as she walked out of the classroom with a now adult Miss Hinako. "Still can't believe I started off makin the wrong speech, though."

"Don't worry about that." The older woman laughed. "I've done that a few times."

Ranko gave her a wry look. "No offense, Hinako-Sensei, but you've ended up having classes discussing episodes of Pretty Cure 5."

Hinako winced. "Yes… I forgot how strangely I acted when I was younger." She said, looking away.

"Hey, I didn't mean ta offend." Ranko said, quickly, unaware that she'd just touched on a sensitive subject.

"Its fine, Ranko-san." Hinako said, returning her gaze to the other as the two walked down the hallway. "We all feel a little odd about the things we did in our childhoods, mine just lasted a little longer than most. Anyway, as I was saying, you did quite well." She grimaced. "Better than those two, Hiroshi and Daisuke, at the least."

"Wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, though I've gotta start ticketing cars later today." Ranko grimaced.

Hinako nodded, kind of thankful that she didn't drive, mostly because her younger self was still a year too young to get a proper license. "I'll be sure to ask for you specially the next time I want an officer to come to the class."

"Oh, um, ya don't need ta do that." Ranko said, her face turning worried.

"Nonsense!" Hinako laughed. "I don't want to lose touch with one of my most interesting students now that I've found her again."

"Um, thanks…" Ranko said, uncertainly, before the two came to the door. "I'll talk to ya again." Hinako merely nodded and waved as the young officer left, the door gently closing behind her.

HR.

Ryoga Hibiki groaned to himself, his whole body feeling as though it had been pounded with a very large hammer. For a second, his mind flashed back to over ten years ago and he was tempted to groan out some comment about it being all Ranma's fault, then he remembered all the intervening time. Still, he had to wonder precisely what had run him over; especially since most trucks wouldn't make him feel this bad if they hit him.

Surprisingly, the light didn't hurt his eyes when he opened them, but that was about the only good thing he could say about his situation. He felt that something had been broken and felt agonizing bolts of pain racing around his shoulder and upper torso. Also, he could feel something heavy resting against each arm and leg, not allowing him to raise them. "What's happening?" He croaked, his throat cracked and his voice rough from more than a week of disuse.

"Oh, Mr. Hibiki, you're awake." He heard someone say, and turned his head in the direction of the voice. He'd been expecting Akane, Kasumi, or maybe in the worst case scenario, a doctor or nurse. What he hadn't been expecting was a wavy brown haired police officer sitting in the chair next to his bed, setting down a hard cover book. It was about then that he realized he was wearing a small, cold bracelet around his right wrist, underneath the larger weight.

"What's going on here?" Ryoga demanded, trying to move his arm but finding it held down. He was pretty sure he could break loose, but was still rather annoyed about being tied down.

"Mr. Hibiki, what's the last thing you recall?" The police officer asked, producing a small pad of paper and pen from apparently nowhere.

"Um, Akane and I were just getting home from a long trip, and then…" Ryoga started, reaching back into his memory. As the images swirled up in his mind, his teeth grit in anger. "Saotome!" He yelled, trying to bolt up. Almost instantly, he regretted that action, as one of his shoulders shot a jagged bolt of lightning down his arm and into his chest. "Gah!" He gasped, falling back to the bed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." The man said, frowning darkly. "When we were in school, I always thought you and Ranma were all right guys, just liked beating the crap out of each other. Now though…" He shook his head, picking something off of his belt and talking into it.

"Aida here, Hibiki's woken up. Better inform his family and doctor." He said, quickly, and clipped the device back into place.

"Wha… what's going on here?" Ryoga asked, now starting to become very worried.

"You injured two police officers, one severely, destroyed a large amount of police property, uttered death threats against an officer of the law..." He stopped for a moment, trying to think if he missed anything. "Oh, and you'll probably get resisting arrest, too. You have the right to remain silent, and if you or your family have legal council, you have the right to contact them now."

Ryoga blinked a couple of times, listening to the formidable list of charges that had been reeled off by the officer. "This isn't happening." He muttered, shaking his head. The officer didn't respond, merely proceeding to the door to wait for the man's family.

HR.

Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi and Umiko all stood around Ryoga's bed, his police guard waiting outside of the room but keeping a careful eye on them from just out of conversational speaking range.

The group had already gone through the usual greetings, Akane and Umiko hugging Ryoga, while Nabiki gave him a death glare and Kasumi frowned at him disapprovingly, and he found himself looking around at a worried family. Even Akane's face was clouded with uncertainty. "All right, do you want to tell me what's going on here and why I'm handcuffed to the bed?" He demanded. "I mean, that cop read off a whole bunch of charges, but that's impossible… I just attacked Ranma."

Akane was about to open her mouth, when Nabiki interrupted. "You have no idea, do you?" She asked, scowling. At Ryoga's blank stare, she shook her head. "Of course you don't. Akane, you sure you should have married this guy?"

"Nabiki!" Kasumi gasped, glaring at her, while Akane did the same.

"Sorry, he is family." Nabiki sighed, then rubbed her forehead. "Look, Ryoga. The martial artists around Nerima and the authorities kind of have a deal." Seeing them all give her an odd look, she shrugged. "It's sort of unofficial on the martial artist side," She admitted, "but it's there. Basically, it means that the police will stay out of the business of the ward's martial artists, if the martial artists don't make trouble for the police."

"But I wasn't making trouble for them, just trying to kill Ranma!" Ryoga exclaimed, and then winced as he saw Akane frown in dismay.

"You idiot, did you even stop for a minute to see where Ranma was?" Nabiki snapped, before Akane could say anything. "She was wearing a POLICE uniform, in a police parking garage, with another officer!" She shook her head. "Basically, you broke the rule, and attacked police and non-combatants directly."

"But it was just…" Ryoga started.

"Officer Ranko Sato, Nerima police officer, on duty," Nabiki said, coolly. "Along with her partner, who is recovering from a badly broken arm."

"This… No!" Ryoga exclaimed. "It was Ranma's fault! He…he came back, and he… he made Akane cry!"

The room went silent, as Akane walked forward and struck her husband along the side of the face. He blinked up at her, confused. "A… Akane?" He asked, uncertain.

"Nabiki… she was right." Akane said, her lip quivering. "You… I thought… when we were… I could never figure out why you and Ranma fought… but I thought that when he came back, you…" She trailed off, looking down. "I'm such an idiot."

"Mom?" Umiko asked, walking up next to her mother and grabbing her by the hand, worriedly.

"I'm all right, Umi-chan." Akane said, tousling her daughter's hair. "Ryoga, Ranma did nothing wrong, this time." She continued, looking up at her husband. "You made a mistake."

"No… I can't… this can't…" Ryoga stuttered, as his nice world started crumbling. "Damn you Saotome!" He roared, trying to pull himself free of the bed. His left arm came loose rather easily, actually. The restraints tore with an ease that frightened the officer at the door.

As the man was going for his radio to call for backup, Ryoga tried to pull his other arm free, howling in pain as his shoulder twinged again. "Gah…" He gasped, falling back to the bed. "Damn you… Ranma… for taking away my happiness." He panted, before passing out from having torn several ligaments within seconds.

Akane simply looked at her husband in shock, her daughter's eyes wide in horror. "Mom, who's this Ranma?" Umiko asked, wondering who her father could speak of with such hatred.

Akane didn't respond, her vision replaying for her the demon like expression of hatred she'd seen on the face of the man she thought she knew. Had this been the man she'd married all those years ago? It seemed completely impossible... but, after what she'd just seen, perhaps she should re-evaluate some things?

END.

There it was, readers. Hope you liked it. As for the agreement between the martial artists and the city, that was generally what Soun took care of on the council, and what Nabiki does now, mostly. There's more to it than what she said, but I don't really feel like expositing that much here, it'd make the chapter clunkier.

Oh, and don't worry about James. He's really a nice pre-reader, just seems to have some sort of sick and wrong love afair with this fic that frightens me on occasion. Sort of like Misato, only fixated to a laser point.

I'm going to sign off now, and…

Misato(Drags weebee off into the darkness.): He's about to shamelessly beg for reviews again, so I'll just shut him up.


	13. Chapter 13, Truth

Damn, a month without updates. Well, here's a new one. Oh, and DON'T read the end notes until the end.

Oh, and I'd like to personally apologize for the review begging last chapter. It was truly unbecoming of a good author. Then again, I never claimed that status, but I'd like to pretend I'm more than a review crazed idiot.

Still, that's not to say I don't want reviews, 'cuz I do, I just don't want to sound like I want them, you see! That's right, I'm a hypocrite! Yay me!

Ahem… On with the show!

Chapter 13, Truth.

"This is a really bad idea." Nabiki muttered, as she and Akane stood in front of the Nerima district police department.

The younger woman threw her older sister a look that conveyed both annoyance and determination. "Nabiki, I have to know." She said, simply.

Nabiki nodded. She had tried to convince her sister not to pursue her current thread of questioning, thinking that it would hurt her too badly, and she was damned sure she wasn't going to tell her, but something had changed in her sister the night before, when she'd seen Ryoga. "Just call me when you want to go home, all right? Don't try to walk there yourself!"

"I know." Akane growled, not liking to be reminded of the problem she'd been cursed with upon marrying her husband. Walking away and keeping her attention fixed on the front doors to the building, she stopped for a moment. "Thanks, Nabiki."

"You're welcome." Nabiki said, shortly, before getting back into her car and closing the driver's side door. 'But I don't think you're going to want to thank me if you find out what you want to know…' She thought, shifting into gear and driving off.

Akane listened to the sound of the car's engine as it faded in her ears, and then walked steadily into the front entrance of the Nerima police department's main building. She'd actually never been here before, which was saying something as she'd explored most of the district when she was younger, either chasing Ranma or looking for P-chan, her pet pig. The building was large, its front hall paved with marble that made a satisfying clicking sound as she walked over it.

As she approached the front desk, she saw a young woman she vaguely recognized sitting at the terminal there and looking bored. The woman looked up, immediately straightening, and Akane noticed the cast that encased one arm.

"Hello, Ma'am, how can I help you?" the brown haired woman asked, trying to look cheerful even though she was on the verge of falling asleep from boredom.

Akane just stared at her arm for a moment. "Um, are you…" She started, rummaging around to try and remember the name Ranma had mentioned in the hospital, over three weeks ago. "Are you Kimiko?"

The woman looked truly surprised for a moment. "Yes…" She said, slowly. "Kimiko Najisa. Is there something I can help you with?"

Akane shook her head to clear it, and then answered. "Yes, is Ranm… I mean, is Officer Sato here?"

Kimiko's eyes narrowed only slightly, before she responded. "She's out in Juuban at the moment. Why do you need to talk to her?"

Akane was taken aback at the suspicious tone the other woman had taken. "I… I just want to talk to her." She said, annoyed. "It's important."

Kimiko nodded. "She should be coming back in a couple of hours." She conceded.

"Thanks." Akane said, and turned to walk away from the desk. As she did so, she heard Kimiko clear her throat.

"Um, you're walking into a restricted area." Kimiko said, blinking in confusion as she noted that the other woman had somehow missed the red "do not enter, authorized personnel only," sign on the door she was about to push open.

"Oh." Akane said, blushing in embarrassment and wishing fervently that she could disappear. "Is there some place where I can wait for Ranma here?"

"Hold on a second, I'll show you where it is." Kimiko said, suddenly connecting the dots between the strange blue-black haired woman she now saw and some comments Ranko and Nabiki Tendo had made about Nabiki's younger sister.

HR.

Ranko coiled her legs beneath her, and then leapt into the air in a graceful arc before landing on the top of a two story business office. As she stabilized herself, unused to doing this after almost ten years of living in places where such a sight would get her questioned rather uncomfortably, she started running along the roof, not stopping as she took a flying leap off of its edge, and landed with a barely noticeable thump on the roof next to it.

As she jumped, she kept one eye on the road, looking for anyone who had parked their vehicle incorrectly or who was breaking the traffic laws.

Earlier in her shift, she'd found herself phenomenally bored. Parking enforcement wasn't precisely the worst job an officer could be saddled with, but it was definitely close, especially without a partner to talk to or a car to keep your attention occupied. Of course, the thought of missing Kimiko brought her back to the events that had taken place several weeks ago, which she still shied away from, and made her concentrate on her job… which generally meant that her mind had been running in a vicious circle for just over two hours by the time she'd figured that she had to do something to break it.

What she'd decided to do, of course, was hop across the rooftops of the Juuban district rather than walking down its streets. This had been a mode of travel denied to her in most of Tokyo, since the average citizen wasn't exactly used to seeing a powerful martial artist treating the laws of physics as mere suggestions. In Nerima, home of the said martial artists, and Juuban, home of some equally strange magical girls, however, she could get away with it without getting odd looks.

As she catapulted herself off of one slanted roof surface, grabbing the edge of another one and flipping up, she began to smile slightly. She'd forgotten just how enjoyable this had been when she was younger.

The freedom to go pretty well wherever she wanted, without any pedestrians in the way, and as quickly as her skill would let her was exhilarating.

It was odd, she thought, that in spite of all of the bad things that had happened since she came back to Nerima she could still find a bright spot in everything… even if it was so small.

Seeing a vehicle parked at something like a 45 degree angle in its spot, she landed and bounded off of the side of the building she was on.

Landing on the ground in front of the car, she started writing the ticket.

"Odango, now look at what happened. You got us ticketed!" Came an annoyed male voice, as Ranko turned around to see two people walking towards her. One was an older teenaged girl, somewhere around 19, and the other was a man somewhere around eight years older.

"But Mamoru, I parked it as best I could!" The girl whined, pouting up at the man.

He just shook his head. "So, how bad is it?" He asked, walking up to Ranko.

"Just being illegally parked." She said, ripping the ticket off and handing it to him. "Your car?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately…"

"Hey, we're going to move it right now, can you let this slide?" The girl asked, looking at Ranko imploringly.

Ranko shook her head, though when the girl started to quiver her lip and her eyes started to water, she had a hard time. "Sorry, but I've got to do my job." She said, concealing her uncertainty well.

As she walked off, she heard the two squabbling. "That puppy dog eyes trick of yours only works on guys, remember?" The man said, chuckling slightly through his annoyance.

"But I swear she almost let us go!" The girl exclaimed. "Plus, did you see how she just jumped down off the roof to get to the car? Maybe she's a Youma!"

"A Youma? Now I know you've got meatballs in there…" The man said, as Ranko exited hearing range.

HR.

The good mood Ranko had somehow established from her afternoon of light duty and roof hopping took a major hit as she walked into the station, seeing a rather worried looking Kimiko sitting at the front desk, and an impatient looking Akane Hibiki at one of the tables provided for waiting visitors.

Reluctantly, Ranko stepped the rest of the way into the building, seeing Akane perk up slightly. Ignoring this, she headed over to Kimiko at the front desk, pulling the small pile of copies of tickets she'd written out of her pocket. "Can you file these for me?" She asked. "Something tells me I won't have time."

"Sure." The other woman said, agreeably. "But you owe me a favor."

Ranko shook her head slightly, but then smiled. "Fine." She said, and then looked oddly over to Akane. "Um, Kimiko, you got any idea why she's here?"

"She told me she wanted to talk to you, and it was important." Kimiko replied. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Ranko said, trying to sound reassuring. "I actually thought she'd be around sooner."

"All right, then I'll get this stuff filed." Kimiko said. As Ranko turned, she finished. "Good luck."

Ranko merely nodded, before walking over to where Akane was patiently waiting. Well, perhaps that was too strong a term. She was waiting, but she was fidgeting rather obviously, and she looked kind of annoyed. "Ya wanted to talk to me?" Ranko asked, sitting at the table across from her.

Akane nodded. "I wanted to see you. We didn't get much time to talk when you were in the hospital."

"We talked a little at your place before Ryoga showed up." Ranko said, looking uncomfortable.

"Ranma, you got away as soon as you could then." Akane said, flatly.

"No, I just…" Ranko countered, and then shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important."

"Of course it is." Akane said, sighing. "I know I wasn't exactly supportive when you left. I just… Ranma, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Ranko asked. "Look, I know why you reacted like that. I mean, the nightmares I had when I thought about being married to Kuno or somethin, Akane, I know how ya felt." She looked away, uncomfortable. "Just sorta wished you'd have picked a better guy to hook up with after I left."

Akane wanted to take offense at that remark. Until yesterday, she would have. But now the image of Ryoga's face, full of rage, entered her mind. She still loved her husband, yes, but that scene had planted a few doubts in her mind that refused to leave her alone.

The two fell into a rather uncomfortable silence after that comment, until a few moments later, when Ranko broke it. "Damn, I shouldn'ta said that… I heard he's finally awake."

"Yeah." Akane said, slowly. "He woke up last night and they called us."

"So… how is he?" Ranko asked, actually looking slightly worried.

Akane looked at her, surprised. "You actually want to know how he is?" She asked.

Ranko shrugged. "I don't like Ryoga. In fact, ya could say I hate the bastard, but I don't wanna be the person who killed him." She said, bluntly.

"Why!?" Akane burst out, the question echoing around the hall, at least to her, as though it were completely hollow.

Ranko shook her head. "I…"

"Don't say it!" Akane exclaimed, cutting her off. "Don't say you can't tell me, don't say I don't want to know… I'm so tired of everyone hiding some big, horrible truth from me, thinking I can't take it…" She stopped, her voice catching in her throat. "I… I saw my husband with murder in his eyes last night! I… When you two were younger, you always fought,, but I didn't understand, I didn't know it was that serious, and I want to know WHAT could make you hate each other that much! Damn it, Ranma, I deserve to know this!"

Ranko looked around, noticing that a few of the off duty officers had turned their heads to look at the two of them after Akane's exclamation. When she answered, Akane could hear some bitterness in her voice. "You deserve to know, huh? Wow, didn't know ya were that hard on yerself." Shaking her head to clear it, she continued. "Let's go."

As Ranko got up, Akane looked at her oddly. "Go where?"

Ranko shrugged. "Well, the honor promise I gave not to tell was on the anything goes, and my honor as a student." She snorted. "Now, I guess I can tell you… but yer gunna wanna be somewhere private."

Akane gulped audibly. She'd expected Ranma to tell her something like that he and Ryoga had been bitter enemies all along, and she'd just been too dense to realize it. This, though… this sounded serious. Worriedly, she followed the small redhead down a hall into the bowels of the building.

HR.

Several minutes later, Akane found herself in a small room, the walls filled with square, steel drawers. For a moment, her mind ran away with her and she thought she was in a morgue, before she saw the word "Evidence" above the door. "Why are we here?" She asked.

"'cuz almost no one ever comes here, and it's got thick walls." Ranko said, simply.

"Ranma, stop playing with me. This can't be as bad as you're making it out to be." Akane said. "All I want to know is why my husband wants to kill you…" She stopped there, then blinked. "Yeah, I guess it could be all that bad." She muttered, processing what she'd just said and imagining all the things Ranma could have done to anger Ryoga that much.

"Look, ya know Ryoga followed me 'n Genma to Jusenkyo, right?" Ranko started, seemingly unwilling to continue.

Akane nodded, though she was unsure. She supposed that if Ryoga had followed Ranma all across Japan and China, he probably would have followed him there.

"Well…" Ranko started, uneasily. "What ya don't know is that, while there, he got in the way of me chasin the old man 'round the grounds. I was pissed enough I was just seeing red, so I didn't notice Ryoga when I ran him down."

Akane merely listened, uncomprehending, as Ranko continued. "C'mon, Akane, you have ta have figured it out!"

"What?" Akane asked.

"Akane, I booted Ryoga into a cursed spring. When I found out, I… I felt guilty about it, so I promised him on my honor that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"So…" Akane said, blinking. "He's angry at you because you kicked him?"

"WHAT?!" Ranko asked, blinking rapidly. "Akane, Ryoga is P-Chan!" She finally exclaimed, in complete shock at how dense the other woman was being.

Akane blinked slowly for a moment, and Ranko waited for the explosion. "Yes, Ryoga is…?" She asked, in an obviously leading fashion.

"P-chan…" Ranko said, now looking very confused. "Ryoga is P-chan, your pet pig. I couldn't tell you because I'd made an oath on my honor. I know it was stupid…" She trailed off, looking down. "Well, I was kinda stupid back then."

"Ranma, start making sense! What couldn't you tell me?" Akane demanded, starting to look angry.

"Ryoga is…" Ranko restated, and then her eyes widened. "No…." She whispered, horrified. "Akane, Ryoga is P-chan."

Akane's response turned Ranko's face white. "Ranma, you keep saying 'Ryoga is,' but then trailing off. What are you trying to say?"

END.

Wow, quite a cliff hanger, eh?

Thus, I elegantly explain why Akane's been so bloody thick through this entire fic! Wait, no, I can't be that egotistical. To tell the truth, this plot came out of nowhere and slapped me in the side of the head, while half way through this chapter. Incidentally, the chapter was supposed to be longer… but then that happened, and I really couldn't pass up the cliff hanger.

Sorry!

Misato: Hey, this didn't just come out of nowhere! I'll have you know that I've been working on it for months in your subconscious!

Weebee: Oh, sure Misato. I believe you. And that shocked look you pulled when it happened was a total coincidence.

Misato: Of course!

Weebee: Sarcasm is wasted on the truly stupid…

Misato: What was that?

Weebee: Um, I said "and don't forget to R&R!" That's the ticket!


	14. Chapter 14, The Lie

Hello again, guys. I just can't seem to leave a good cliff hanger alone now-a-days! Well, here's the next part, and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 14, The Lie.

Kimiko had been expecting something to happen after Ranko had lead Akane into the depths of the station earlier, but that something definitely wasn't her partner charging down the hall, the very confused form of Akane Hibiki trailing behind her. "Ranma, where are we going?" Akane asked, sounding about as confused as she was.

"I'll explain on the way," Ranko snapped, looking almost as angry as Kimiko remembered her being when she'd blasted Ryoga. Worried, the brown haired woman quickly leapt up from her chair at the front desk, running to catch up with the two as they made it to the front door and paying little attention to the steady jolting pain as her broken arm banged against her side. "Wait, Ranko, what's going on? Are you all right?"

"I will be," Ranko said, her eyes flashing, as she stalked down the sidewalk. "...or at least I'll find out why I'm not."

"Ranma, this is stupid. First you don't tell me about Ryoga and now you're dragging me down the street, what is going on?" Akane demanded, trying to yank her hand free of the other woman's grip, but finding it stuck fast.

"Wait, what does this have to do with Hibiki?" Kimiko asked, but she subsided as she was glared at by both of the others.

"Look, Akane. I already told you," Ranko said, annoyed. "Ryoga was P-chan, and I was the one responsible for the curse. That's why we fight."

"But that's it, you aren't telling me," Akane exclaimed, almost yelling now due to her confusion.

"Kimiko, did I tell 'er?" The redhead asked.

Kimiko blinked, feeling vaguely like she'd just entered half way through a scene in a bad soap opera. "Um, you mentioned something about that bastard who attacked us, and P… something." She repeated, unsure of any of the significance.

Akane blinked. "So… she did say it?" She asked, completely confused.

"Yeah, but you can't understand it," Ranko growled, and seeing Akane's anger returning, she quickly continued. "Ya remember that time Shampoo used that weird pressure point technique on ya, and ya couldn't remember me or anythin' about me?"

Kimiko blinked, having recognized that event from the abridged version of Ranko's life story that she'd been told in the hospital, but Akane's reaction was much more dramatic.

She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, actually managing to tug the determinedly moving Ranko to a stop beside her. "You… you're kidding, right?" She stammered.

Ranko shook her head. "I've mentioned it about five times by now; ya just can't hear or understand it."

"So the Amazons… but why? Why would they do that?" Akane asked.

"I got a few ideas," Ranko grumbled, and the group continued on.

"So, now that you two are all cleared up, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Kimiko asked. "I mean, what's P-chan, anyways? And I thought you already told me everything about your life." This last part was spoken with an accusatory look at Ranko, who looked down slightly.

"Ryoga's secret was somethin' I promised not ta tell anyone," The redhead explained. "The promise isn't really worth bein' enforced anymore, especially since I don't got any of the stuff I swore it on anymore, but…" She shrugged. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"So, are you going to tell me, or not?" Kimiko demanded.

Ranko sighed. "Already told this story today, but then again Akane didn't really hear it. When I was on my training trip with Genma…"

HR.

Fifteen minutes later, by the time the three had reached the Neko Hanten, Kimiko was looking mildly green. "That's just disgusting," She exclaimed, angrily, and Akane's face turned even more worried and frustrated.

For the Hibiki woman, almost half of the conversation had consisted of garbled nonsense or random silent spaces, but Kimiko's reactions were definitely worrying. Heck, at this point she was beginning to become scared. If this was that bad, what could it be?

Fortunately, she could definitely say that she knew Ryoga couldn't possibly do half of the things she imagined, but they were still disconcerting. The blue-black haired woman's thoughts were broken, however, when the three reached the Neko Hanten's front door. Immediately, Ranko brushed her way through, surprising Shampoo and Mousse, who were scrubbing the tables and counter, respectively.

"Ranm…ko?" Shampoo exclaimed, remembering what her great grandmother had told her about the redhead's new life, though slightly too late.

"Shampoo, we need ta talk," Ranko said, stalking forward and leveling a glare at the purple haired woman that caused her to step back. Normally, mostly due to her height and pixy-like features, Ranko's angered expressions tended not to work terribly well. This one, however, was doing admirably.

"W… what do we need to talk about?" Shampoo asked, nervously. "Can it wait until after hours?"

"No, it can't," Akane joined in, standing next to Ranko. "I want to know what you did to me."

"What I… what?" Shampoo asked, blinking in confusion. "I don't understand." She rummaged through her memory frantically; trying to think of what she may have done, but drew a blank. Ranko already knew about everything she'd done in Nerima, so that couldn't be what she was talking about, and Shampoo hadn't interacted with Akane much after Ranma had left.

"Don't play games!" Ranko growled, stepping forward and starting to radiate a battle aura. "That formula 411 technique that erases people's memories. You used it on her."

Shampoo blinked. "Yes… when we first met, but you reversed that." She said, now more confused than frightened. Just then, Ranko stepped forward and Mousse, who had stepped around the counter, reached into the sleeve of his robe.

Not having seen the latter, Kimiko stepped forward and put a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Ranko, calm down. I think she's serious."

The redhead looked over at her, and grudgingly nodded. "Shampoo, ya really don't know what I'm talkin about?" She demanded.

The Amazon shrugged. "No, but if there's something I can do to help, I will."

"There will be no need for that, child." Came a much older sounding voice, causing the group to turn and see Cologne, who was standing in the door to the kitchen.

"You know what's going on, great grandmother?" Shampoo asked, surprised.

"Yes, but I will have to talk to Sato-san in private," Cologne said, leveling a look at Ranko that brooked no argument.

Even so, she considered arguing. Still, she wanted to learn what was going on more than she wanted to get into a losing fight with the old ghoul. "All right," She said, walking across the room and stepping around Mousse, who still had one hand hidden up his sleeve.

As she disappeared into the kitchen, and then the sound of a cane and two feet climbing a set of stairs rang through the room, Shampoo sighed. "She's acting more like she used to…" She said, unsure if that was a good or bad thing. "What's happening?"

"I would like to know that, as well." Mousse contributed.

"Ranma thinks there's some memories in my head that have been blocked off with Shampoo's memory technique." Akane explained.

"Hmm, I see," Shampoo said. "Yes, that would set her off. Thank you for calming her down, by the way, Miss…" She turned towards the brown haired police officer.

"Kimiko Najisa. Ranko's partner," She said.

"Ah, yes," Shampoo said, then looked the other over. "Even as a girl, Ranko can attract the girls."

"What?" Kimiko sputtered, suddenly shocked out of the serious mood that the previous events had put her into.

"You said you were her partner. You love her, right?" The Amazon asked, straight forwardly.

"Huh…? No! Her partner, as in, we're patrol officers who work in pairs!" Kimiko said, blushing slightly and shaking her head.

"Hmm…" Shampoo pondered. "Must be another one of those Japanese things that I still don't understand. It took long enough to figure out the stupid language," She grumbled, trailing off.

The room fell into a quiet silence, before Kimiko eased herself into a chair that had not yet been stacked on top of its table, resting her aching arm on the flat surface.

"What happened there?" Mousse offered, having somewhat relaxed from his alert stance, as he came out from around the counter.

"It's a long story," Kimiko started, Akane reluctantly nodding in agreement as she sat at a different seat at the same table.

"We've probably got time." Shampoo offered, nodding to the kitchen. "They will take a while."

"Yes, I haven't heard the whole story, either." Akane contributed, suddenly.

"All right." Kimiko sighed, and then started talking. After having told the story to both the chief and several others already, she was getting tired of it.

HR.

Ranko looked around briefly as Cologne lead her into her private room above the Neko Hanten. The place was much as she had remembered, except that several Japanese artifacts had joined the Chinese ones that had formerly been there. "All right, so ya said you could explain why Akane can't remember or even hear about P-chan. Ya wanna explain?" She asked, bluntly.

Cologne nodded. "Sit down, Sato-san," She instructed, calmly.

"Why do ya call me that?" Ranko asked, suddenly.

Cologne shrugged. "You decided to start a new life after Nerima. Most here don't realize that, but I can respect it especially since many Jusenkyo victims chose to do so. If you want me to stop, however…"

"No, it's fine… Thanks," Ranko said, surprised, and sat in a small wooden chair near the door. "Now, ya gunna explain?"

Cologne nodded, taking her own seat. "You were right about the Xi Fa Xiang Gao."

"The what?" Ranko interrupted.

"The pressure point technique that was used," Cologne clarified, exasperated. "What you were incorrect about was the user of the technique."

"Fine, then who did it?" Ranko asked.

"I did," Cologne said, flatly, and then dropped a second bomb as Ranko shot half way out of her seat. "Because Akane Tendo asked me to."

The redhead stopped dead, as if she'd just touched a live wire. "Sh… she what?" She stammered.

"I know what you were thinking when you first found out about it. You thought that, perhaps, Shampoo had used the technique to erase Akane's memories of the pig's curse so that the misunderstanding would create a gap between you, or rather Ranma, and the Tendo girl."

Ranko nodded, so she continued.

"Unfortunately, during the entire time you were here, Akane truly didn't realize that Ryoga was P-chan," Cologne shook her head. "Truly, the girl isn't all that observant."

"Then when…" Ranko stammered, completely baffled.

"That takes a bit of explanation," Cologne said, sighing. "You see, when I allowed Ryoga and Mousse to use the Nannichuan to cure their curses, I'd assumed that Ryoga would tell Akane about the curse immediately, at least if he courted her romantically." She shook her head, sadly. "Unfortunately, the damned fool boy was too afraid, so after the curse had been cured, he just went after her without bothering to mention it. Ranko, let me assure you that if I had known of this I would have stopped it, if only for the harm it would eventually do to the girl."

Ranko looked at the old woman skeptically. "Thought ya didn't like Akane that much?" She asked.

"I didn't, but that does not mean I would let someone abuse her trust that badly, especially since Nerima became a sort of replacement tribe for Shampoo, Mousse and I after we left the Amazons." She shrugged. "Why else do you think I assisted the police when they asked us to confine Genma?"

Seeing Ranko's understanding nod, she continued. "Well, as it was, Akane and Ryoga married, and eventually the girl became pregnant." She snorted. "The boy should have been careful with what he said in his sleep, because eventually, she was awake while he had quite an… informative dream. She never told me what it was about, but it definitely let out his secret."

"So how does this get ta her askin you to erase her memory?" Ranko growled, but she was beginning to see.

"Ranko, she was pregnant with his child and you saw what the Tendo sisters and their father ended up like when one parent died. At least, I presume that was her reason. Personally, I find her reaction to the news and her form of coping to be remarkably foolish, but since she was irrational enough to threaten to kill herself if I didn't help, I had little choice."

"I see," Ranko said, looking vaguely sick to her stomach. "Why the hell's my life gotta start getting so complex?" She mumbled, for perhaps the thousandth time since returning to Nerima. "And I told 'er I'd tell her why me 'n Ryoga hate each other."

"That will be impossible as long as she has the block in place." Cologne said, simply.

"Then get rid of it." Ranko snapped, causing the old woman's eyebrows to rise. Seeing the look, she explained. "I had ta face all the crap in my past, she may as well face hers."

Cologne secretly agreed, but also knew that Akane's reaction could be extreme. "I'm unsure if that would be wise." She said, as the most tactful alternative to what she wanted to say.

"So, ask her." Ranko replied, instantly. "Only do it if she says she wants it done."

"You know she'll say yes."

Ranko merely nodded.

HR.

The group in the restaurant's front room was interrupted as Kimiko was describing the final seconds of Ranko and Ryoga's fight, as they heard the sound of feet and the cane slowly descending the stairs. They looked over to the kitchen, to see Ranko re-entering the room, immediately followed by Cologne.

Both of them looked very serious, but thankfully Ranko wasn't angry anymore. She did, however, somehow seem sad. "Well, I've found out what's goin' on," The redhead said. "Akane, you got a decision ta make."

As Ranko described what Akane had done, Kimiko's earlier feeling that she had been thrown into a bad soap opera increased. The worst part was she was just barely able to keep track of it now, and it was starting to make her feel distinctly queasy.

After Ranko had finished describing the situation to her, Akane sat in her chair, sipping at some tea that Mousse had brewed earlier, and mulling over the information she'd been given.

Earlier this afternoon, she'd thought things would be simple. She'd thought that she would ask Ranma about why he and Ryoga hated each other, and have some sort of answer to the swirling doubts that had been gnawing on her insides since the incident at the police station, and especially since the night before. Now, however, it had gotten much, much more confusing.

Apparently, whatever this problem was, it had been so bad that she'd voluntarily had her mind wiped clean of it when she'd first found out… but… she still had to know, no matter how stupid that impulse was, and paradoxically it was BECAUSE it was bad enough for her to want to erase it. "All right." She finally said. "Do it."

"You're sure about this…" Cologne said, before getting a decisive nod. Sighing, she looked to Shampoo and Mousse. "You two, get the supplies. You know what I need."

HR.

Several minutes later, Akane found herself laying back, her head on an odd angle over the sink at the back of the Neko Hanten's kitchen. Cologne actually stood on the counter, right behind the taps, with her hands poised. "Are you ready, Akane?" She asked, almost sounding sympathetic.

Akane would have nodded if she'd had the freedom of movement, but as it was, she spoke. "I'm ready." Just as she said it, she felt a tickling feeling rush over her scalp that she faintly remembered feeling twice before. As the pressure point strikes took effect, flashes of memory appeared in her mind. Most of them were scenes of P-chan, Ryoga or Ranma. Others were random snippets of conversation between her father, her sisters and others that had just floated over her head beforehand.

For a while, she wondered why P-chan was in so many of the shots, until she saw the last few. The first hit the hardest. It was herself and Ryoga, sleeping in a tent with her arms wrapped cozily around his neck. Suddenly, he bolted upright and screamed "Ranma! How dare you tell Akane I'm P-chan!" Immediately after that came flashes of earlier in the day, when Ranma had repeatedly told her the truth in the evidence room.

"Ryoga… is P-chan?" She thought, her mind working ever-so slowly out of the rut it had been stuck in for just over eight years, starting to accept something that she'd been denying for just over ten.

The flood of emotions that came next was very, very intense, but the one that was riding highest was anger. The same kind of white-hot anger she would have exhibited so long ago when she was engaged to Ranma, but oh-so much stronger.

With a roar of outrage, the blue-black haired woman's head whipped up and straight out of Cologne's fingers, as she turned her burning gaze on the redhead who was sitting with several others across the room from her. "How dare you?!" She screeched, her aura boiling into being around her.

The aura was so intense that it bled into the visible spectrum, allowing Kimiko to see it. Detachedly, she noted that it wasn't nearly as large as the one Ranko had manifested when she'd blasted Ryoga, but that still didn't stop her from scrambling out of the way for fear of another broken arm.

"How dare you not tell me about Ryoga, you jerk!" Akane yelled, and Ranko caught herself almost feeling nostalgic for the phrase, while also feeling a twinge of pain.

"I…" She tried, but Akane cut her off.

"I thought you were so quick to protect me all the time, it always drove me nuts when we were younger, and then you let that pig… and I.. I… married him… and…" Her expression twisted for a moment, and she bolted the rest of the way out of her chair, preparatory to charging at the redhead.

Fortunately for Ranko's only mildly injured body, Akane was stopped before she could take her first step, Cologne's staff lashing out and hitting her in the back of the neck. Instantly, she slumped down, her knees propelling her backwards until she landed in the chair she'd just gotten up from with a solid thump.

"Girl!" The elder barked, the word sounding almost like an epithet when she said it. "Certainly, Ranko-san isn't totally blameless for what happened, but I suggest you think long and hard before lashing out again. Think, direct your anger where it belongs or let it go. Either way, you're not letting it loose in the middle of my restaurant!"

Akane made an inarticulate sound, but Cologne ignored it. "Think, Girl," She said, again with that same emphasis. "Who turned a blind eye to all of the evidence for YEARS, without the aid of memory alteration? Who, when she did find out, could not take the truth of the situation? Ranko is guilty of making and upholding a stupid promise, nothing more and nothing less. You are guilty of being a foolish child, nothing more, and nothing less. The Hibiki boy? I have no idea what he was thinking, but I suggest you try and find out."

Seeing that Akane was making no more efforts to move, the elder lashed out again and tapped another spot on her neck. Akane flexed her fingers for a moment, and then stood stiffly, tension visible in every line of her face and body. "I… have to go." She said, quietly, before leaving."

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Ranko and Kimiko stood, the later wincing again as a throb of pain went through her arm.

"You all right?" Ranko asked, worriedly.

Kimiko shrugged. "I'll be fine." She answered, shortly.

Nodding and turning away, the shorter redhead looked down at the former Amazon elder. "Old, erm, elder…" She said, uncertainly. "Thanks for yer help."

Cologne nodded. "You realize that she will likely still hold you partially responsible."

"Yeah, sorta figured." Ranko replied, resigned.

As the two turned and were starting to walk out of the building, Shampoo slowly moved up next to Ranko. "Ranko-san?" She asked, her voice more uncertain than the redhead had ever heard it.

"Oh, yeah, sorry for going off on ya like that, Shampoo," Ranko replied, off-hand.

The purple haired Amazon just blinked slowly, and looked towards her grandmother in astonishment.

Cologne shook her head, half annoyed and half amused, and the younger Amazon could have sworn she'd heard her mutter something like "She really must grow a backbone at some point." But she didn't care. The one who she'd once called Airen, somehow, didn't hate her, so she smiled as she looked back at Ranko.

"It's not a problem." She shook her head, ruefully. "If I were you, I'd have suspected me too."

Ranko couldn't help but laugh, in spite of the situation, though it quickly faded out. "We'd better get goin'," She finally said. "Ya know you skipped work ta follow me 'n Akane, right Kimiko?"

"Oh… shit!" The brown haired woman exclaimed, and the two left, heading for the station as quickly as they could.

END.

Akane is... well, pissed is too small a word to describe it. Don't know precisely what else to say here, since I'm getting really tired, but, um.... SPOON!!!

Oh, and please R&R.


	15. Chapter 15, Aftermath

Sorry for the delay, but school's starting up again, and my muse is still being irritating. Also, an attack of nostalgia hit and… well, I've been spending far too much time watching the original power rangers.

Now that I've proven how much of a geek I am, on with the show!

Chapter 15, Aftermath.

Ranko looked up at the large, white stone building with a slight feeling of trepidation. Kimiko had asked her if she wanted someone to go with her, but the redhead had declined, since her partner was already busy with work the chief had assigned her in order to catch up for skipping work the afternoon before.

Ranko had volunteered to take the flack for that incident, but the other had shrugged it off, saying that she could deal with it. Sometimes, Ranko wondered why Kimiko had put up with this, especially the parts that had been life-threatening, but she didn't really want to ask, especially since she didn't want to know the answer.

Nerving herself up, the redhead pushed the doors to the building open, walking up to a desk that was set in the middle of a small, wood floored hall. A rather attractive young college student stood there, organizing files. Noticing a shadow falling across her desk, the girl looked up and blinked. "Yes?" She asked, absent mindedly.

"I'm here to see Dr. Tomino," Ranko said, shrugging uncomfortably. "Ranko Sato."

"Right, just a moment," The girl said, looking away to type something into a computer. While she worked, Ranko took a look around the room, wondering why she was here. Well, why she was here was pretty obvious, since she'd lose her job without the psychological evaluation, but she really didn't need to be told that she was Gender Dysphoric again.

"Miss Sato, you can go in now," The girl said, breaking the police officer out of her train of thought. Ranko nodded, and walked down a hall near the desk that the receptionist had pointed out. The doctor's office was clearly marked, which was a good thing, as there were several doors lining the corridor, belonging to some people with very odd names. Knocking on the door, the pigtailed officer heard a muffled voice calling for her to come in, before she stepped into a small, brightly lit office.

The place was pretty sparsely decorated, with only a painting and a couple of diplomas on the white plaster walls, along with a desk and a couple chairs. The couch that popular culture had trained her to expect in a place like this wasn't around, but she shrugged, stepped in and stood behind the chair.

"Ah, Miss Sato," A small man with glasses commented from the other side of the wooden desk. "Please sit down. I've got your file, so we may start at any time. Would you like some tea?"

Ranko shrugged, sitting in the other chair, and shook her head at the offer of tea. Looking at the small man oddly, she asked, "How much of my file do you have?"

He smiled, almost secretively, and answered by laying two manila folders on the table. One said "Saotome Ranma" on it in neat black lettering, and the other was clearly identified as her police workup.

"And how much of it do ya believe?" She continued, not really surprised at the information he had. She had been referred to him by Chief Aido, after all, and it only stood to reason that he'd be given all the data the chief had.

"Well… you certainly get to the point," Dr. Tomino said, straightening his glasses uncomfortably. "If it helps, I believe that you believe all that is in this file, even if I am unable to accept some of it."

"Yeah, figured as much," Ranko muttered, sighing. This was going to be a long day. Leaning forward, she said, "If it helps…" and then held her hand up in front of her face, concentrating on it. She hadn't done what she was about to, at least not consciously, in quite a long time. Within moments, a small ball of Chi energy appeared in her palm, and she went about strengthening it until it was almost certainly in the spectrum of light visible to non-chi sensitives.

The psychologist was looking at the former martial artist as if she'd grown a second head, and his jaw was hanging down a couple of inches further than she thought was strictly healthy, so she squeezed her hand into a fist, forcing the ball of energy back into nothingness. "Know that don't prove everything in there, but it should at least show ya I'm not exactly normal."

"Well… um…. Yes, I suppose it does." The man stammered, reaching a hand up to wipe at his brow. This definitely complicated a lot of things, and now he was kicking himself for accepting this case from Aido after the other man had told him flat out that it would be unusual. "In that case…" He mumbled, trying to think of what to say next.

He'd been pretty sure he had a course of treatment planned out for this woman, involving coming to terms with the obvious child abuse that had caused her cat problem, as well as her very deep conviction that she was somehow a man… but now, he had no idea. "Would you… care to tell me about yourself?" He tried.

"You've got it all in those files, right?" Ranko asked, confused.

"Not all of it. Your records while traveling with your father are quite spotty, and those surrounding your eighteenth year are even worse… just humor me, please." The doctor explained, before leaning back to listen.

Ranko mumbled something about writing a book taking less effort, then started talking. "I can't really remember much before I was about five, 'n the old man thought up this training trip."

HR.

Kimiko mumbled to herself as she scrolled through several slides that had been converted from images taken at crime scenes. Given that most of Nerima's crime consisted of things being spray-painted on walls, or windows being broken, it wasn't a terribly exciting job, simply transcribing the timestamp that the digital camera left in the lower left hand corner into a filename, but it was currently what she was being paid for, and what she'd be doing for a good while to come.

For a moment, she wondered if having gone with Ranko to see her new psychologist would have been more entertaining, but she shook that off as she tabbed into another screen of images. As she ran through, she started studying them, as some desperate attempt to keep awake. "Let's see, we've got that blue thunder guy's Bokken, some sort of shredded garbage can… a pair of panties?" She blinked, but shrugged it off as none of her business and typed in the date.

As she continued to scroll, she had to marvel at what some of this evidence consisted of. There was even a property damage case in Juuban with a rose buried up to the end of its stem in concrete. She couldn't help but snicker at the mental image that brought up, of some guy walking around with a rose-launching crossbow, or something. Her laughter died in her throat, however, when she hit the next picture in line.

Viewing it immediately brought her flashbacks of the last dead body she'd seen. It was a human hand, a small, puckered pock-mark like burn in its center. Strangely, the date and time on the bottom of the image didn't correspond to any of the bodies that had been found. In fact, as she looked at the image some more, an odd idea flashed across her mind, and she pulled up a calander with the major events of the last few weeks on it.

"What in the…" She mumbled, drawing the attention of Hiroshi, who was walking past her terminal.

"Something up, Najisa?" He asked, leaning in to look over her shoulder.

Kimiko wanted to say something to him, since he and Daisuke had been trying to hit on her on and off for the last month, but resisted the urge and just answered. "Does that burn look like one of those ones from that last murder case?" She asked, curiously.

Hiroshi's face turned grey, and Kimiko thought that she'd just gotten revenge for his un-subtle flirting, but also rather regretted it. She knew that the man had had a LOT of trouble sleeping after that incident. Shaking his head, Hiroshi looked at the image carefully. "Yeah, it does… not as deep, though." He responded. "Why, where's this from?"

Kimiko frowned. "It's from the night that guy attacked the station… I think it's an image of Ranko's hand." She said, sounding very troubled.

HR.

Akane huffed in exertion as she ran down another corridor that she was unfamiliar with. Actually, she was somewhat familiar with this one, but she wasn't thinking terribly clearly at the moment. She had been running, or hiking, for the better part of the last day, and the tiredness and scuffed clothes showed it.

She'd needed a lot of that time to clear her head, and she hadn't made a terrible amount of progress. She had managed to admit that her first reaction, to crush Ranma's skull, hadn't been the best one, even if everything was half Ranma's fault, but she hadn't decided much else.

One thing she did know, honor be damned, she'd be divorcing Ryoga Hibiki. She just couldn't believe that she'd let that pig deceive her for so long. Lashing out, she barely resisted smashing a hole in the nearest wall, and rested her hand against it instead. "I… Ryoga, you… you bastard." She mumbled, and her throat seemed to tighten to the point that it was painful.

Letting out a quiet series of sobs, the former youngest Tendo allowed herself to slump against the wall. "Mrs. Hibiki?" She blinked as she heard a voice penetrating the fog of her mind.

"Hmm?" The blue-black haired woman asked, looking up from where her head rested in the crook of one arm. She blinked as she saw a concerned looking woman in a blue coat. She recognized her, but she couldn't remember her name. "You… you're Ryoga's doctor, aren't you?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Yes…" The woman said, slowly. "Are you all right?"

Akane snorted. "You don't know the half of it." She muttered, though the other didn't apparently hear her. "Are we at the hospital?" She asked, instead.

The doctor nodded. "...Did you come here to see your husband?"

Akane contemplated that question for a moment, and then nodded slowly.

HR.

A being crouched in the shadows, watching the street as a young girl ran down it, looking both ways. It stretched out its aura sense, caressing the girl's aura, and a smile appeared on its pale lips. This one was strong, as it'd remembered it before, and it had resisted feeding for more than three weeks. It really deserved something nice for holding off that long, and this time that damnable Saotome was nowhere in sight.

It slinked through the alleys that snaked past and through the Nerima district's streets, keeping up with the girl, who was moving strangely. She was very hard to track, and the being was getting frustrated with the fact that she kept changing course as it tried to get into a proper capture position.

Finally, the girl seemed to decide on one direction, after checking some sort of electronic device she'd pulled out of her pocket, and it got ready to grab her… when a crashing force descended onto its back. It growled in rage, and saw another shadow lurking in the darkness. Lunging out, it grabbed for the other being, but was dodged easily. Apparently, tonight, it had lost one prey and gained another, even if this one was much harder to catch.

HR.

Nabiki Tendo paced back and forth, cursing to herself as she typed away on her PDA. She'd tried working on her laptop, but she simply could not stand still long enough. She'd dropped her sister off at the police station the day before, and Akane hadn't called for pickup. She'd expected her confrontation with Ranma to go rather quickly, no matter what happened, but it had been just over a day now.

As she turned for another round of the living room, Kasumi walked up to her and tapped her on the arm. Nabiki almost dropped the personal organizer, and then exhaled a long sigh of relief. "You scared me half to death, sis!" She exclaimed, irritated.

"Nabiki, dinner's ready and you've been pacing for hours," Kasumi said, both soothing and rebuking at the same time. "Please sit down and eat."

Nabiki nodded, walking over to the living room table and sighing. Looking over the two plates there, she blinked. "Where's Umi-chan?" She asked.

Kasumi frowned at her. "I told you earlier, remember? She phoned to tell us that she was going to a friend's house and staying over."

"Oh… right," Nabiki said, shaking her head. "Wait, you didn't ask me about it?" Her look at her older sister was now slightly accusatory.

"She hasn't been to a friend's house in months, Nabiki. I didn't think it would be an issue," Kasumi said, mildly. Nabiki nodded, raising a chopstick load of rice to her mouth, when the phone rang. "I really have to unplug that thing." Kasumi muttered, standing to get it.

Nabiki tried to stand and volunteer to get it, but she found that her legs no longer worked, due to all of her pacing. Instead, she listened as Kasumi went into the hall, picking up the handset.

Within moments, she heard her sister's startled exclamation of "Oh, M… wait, Ryoga-kun is what?"

Nabiki's eyebrow rose, but she made a conscious effort not to ask her sister what had happened until she was done talking. This took several minutes, as Kasumi was much too polite, sometimes, but within a short while she had entered the room, a smile on her face that somehow transcended her usual placid one.

"So?" Nabiki demanded, waiting as her sister stayed silent.

Kasumi shrugged in bemusement. "Apparently, Ryoga had a visit from Akane." She said, deadpan. "She left him a note saying 'You disgusting pig bastard, when you're out, I'm going to beat you to a pulp. Until then, consider this a divorce notice.'"

Nabiki shook her head. "Well, little sis was never exactly subtle," She muttered. "At least we don't have to worry if she's okay or not, but I can't believe Ranma finally told her."

"I always said we should have…" Kasumi started, before getting a stop gesture from Nabiki. The two had had this discussion many times before, and she really didn't want to have it again. "Oh, something else I should mention about what she did," The eldest Tendo said, in stead.

Seeing Nabiki's expression, which seemed to say 'get on with it,' she continued. "She drew a pig snout on his face with magic marker."

Nabiki started to laugh.

HR.

Ranko yawned a bit as she walked down the street that lead from the local subway station to her apartment building. Her first meeting with her psychologist hadn't actually been as annoying as she'd thought it would be, if only because he hadn't started telling her what he thought was wrong with her yet. She'd only been through this sort of thing one time previous, when she'd first applied for the academy, and they'd had plenty to say about her personality problems, to the point where she'd wondered why they'd finally accepted her.

This guy, however, had just taken several sheets worth of notes, and seemed inordinately happy about something. She simply shrugged it off, deciding that she would figure out what was up with him when she went back next week.

Walking up to her front steps, the pigtailed officer almost tripped over a lump that was slumped at their base. Blinking, she looked down to see a mop of black hair that she vaguely recognized. Reaching down, she shook the shoulder of the small person who seemed to be sleeping there, and was surprised as she saw Umiko's face emerge from her arms. "Wha?" The redhead asked, articulately.

"Ranko-san, I'm glad you're finally here!" The little girl said, excitedly.

Ranko blinked several times. "What the hell are you doin here?" She finally said, at a loss for anything else to say. "You got any idea how dangerous it is ta fall asleep on a step in this part of the city? Some weirdo stalker could be out here."

She was stopped in mid-rant as Umiko raised a hand, as if in class. "Can you please tell me what's going on with mom and dad?" She asked.

Ranko stopped and blinked. "Ya came all the way here ta ask me about yer parents?" She asked, not quite believing what she was hearing. "Why didn't ya ask Nabiki and Kasumi?"

"I tried asking Aunt Nabiki, but she said not until I'm older, and Aunt Kasumi just gets all sad when I ask her about it," The girl explained.

"So you, like everyone else, come to me," Ranko muttered, rubbing her forehead. "I've gotta get you home."

"But you've got to tell me!" The girl objected. "Plus, I told Aunt Kasumi that I was staying at a friend's house, and if she finds out I came out here, she'll kill me!" Ranko looked at the girl for a moment, then quickly looked away, as if she were looking at a horrible monster.

'She's quivering her lip, that just ain't fair…' The redhead thought, then looked up towards the sky. Seeing that it was darkening, she sighed. "C'mon, I'll at least let ya sleep 'till the morning, but if I ever catch ya doin something this stupid again, I'm reporting ya to the Tendos."

"And you'll tell me what's happened with Mom and Dad?" The girl continued.

"Look, that's probably somethin they should be tellin ya about," Ranko objected, as she walked up the stairs to her front doors.

"But they won't," The little girl countered.

"I'm sure they will, when stuff gets sorted out," Ranko replied, and Umiko had a comeback, but half of it was lost as the building's front door swung shut.

END.

Notes: I didn't make the psychologist's name up, to avoid the gaffe I made with Aido's. Still, I DID name him after an Anime director with the fan nickname "Kill 'em all," so that can't be good.

Hope you enjoyed that, even if it was just an experiment in "How many more plot threads can we open this week?" please don't forget to leave a review telling me how completely awesomely I sucked. :)


	16. Chapter 16, Split the Cost

Okay, FFN has decided that I can't upload files, and I can't copy-paste en-masse. So of course, I go and copy-paste this chapter in paragraph by paragraph. I am an extremely angry author right now, and I probably screwed up the order of the paragraphs. So please excuse me while I go blow something up.

Chapter 16, Split the Cost.

Umiko's eye slowly drifted open to a view of an unfamiliar room. She was comfortably tucked into a strange bed, but for a moment panic flitted across her face before she noticed the shadowed form that lay on a ratty old futon on the floor next to her.

At that moment, the events of the night before came back to the young girl, and she considered just yawning and going back to sleep. The sun hadn't come up yet, and by the readout on the digital clock it was only five o'clock.

She rolled over, trying to do just that, but her eyes refused to shut. She'd asked Ranko to tell her about her family, or at least the redhead's connection to them, several times after she'd been brought into the apartment, and right through the simple meal the older woman had prepared.

As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure that had been one of the contributing factors to Ranko's proclamation that she was going to bed right after eating, but since she'd walked so far, she hadn't objected. Now, though, the curiosity was back and she was undeniably awake and not tired.

Groaning softly, the young girl slipped her feet over the edge of Ranko's bed, and began to make the rounds of the room. Really, she was amazed that someone could live in a place like this. While the apartment wasn't really very small, it was devoid of all of the little personal touches that her aunt Kasumi always decorated the Tendo compound with.

As she came to the small dresser, the little girl caught sight of some knickknacks set on top of it. Picking up one of them, what looked like a leather bound photo album, she winced as a small badge or medal that had been set on top of it clattered to the dresser's top, shooting a look over at the futon, and resisting the urge to sigh in relief as she saw that Ranko was still asleep.

Tip-toeing back to the bed, Umiko hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should look into the book. Still, she HAD been raised by Nabiki Tendo, which gave her a healthy dose of curiosity. Cracking it open, she held it under a stream of light that filtered in from the street outside, noticing that a lot of the images were covered in dust, as though Ranko very rarely ever opened the book.

Umiko gasped softly as she wiped a layer of dust off of the first page, seeing an image of what looked like younger versions of her family, standing uneasily next to several other people she knew and a man with a pigtail who looked a lot like one of Ranko's relatives.

As she continued to page through the book, she became more and more fascinated, as well as more and more confused. Everyone had seemed to become less nervous as the images continued, for the most part, and she sometimes saw pictures of Ranko or that man interspersed with ones of her family.

The strange thing was that the two were around her mother a lot, usually smiling or looking embarrassed. They had all apparently been really good friends when they were younger, and she had to wonder what had happened.

"Are you done?" Came a rather irritated, yet sleepy voice from above Umiko.

The girl jumped, sending the book sliding off of the edge of the bed, but Ranko bent and caught it easily, before giving her an irritated look. "Shoulda known, yer related to Nabiki." She said, then snorted.

"I…" Umiko said, blushing.

"Don't worry about it." Ranko said, gruffly, though Umiko noticed that she carefully replaced the book in the same place where she'd taken it from. "Ya just gotta learn not ta get too distracted. I've been watching you for five minutes."

"Oh." Umiko said, looking down in embarrassment.

""I'm gunna go make ya breakfast. Gotta get you home in time to change for school." Ranko commented, walking out of the small bedroom to start moving around in the kitchen.

Umiko looked after her, confused. She knew she'd been irritated, and she really couldn't blame her. If she'd had someone snooping through her things, she'd be pretty mad, too, but Ranko had seemed more resigned than anything else.

Tentatively, the girl followed Ranko into the apartment's kitchen, watching her cook. "I'm… really sorry." She mumbled, quietly. "Mom and Dad have just been acting so weird lately, and I wanted…"

Ranko looked away from preparing breakfast for a moment, and shrugged. "Yeah, I know. I just really shouldn't be the one ta tell you." She answered, then sighed. "The parts of the story that have ta do with me are the weirdest, and I suck at lying."

"Do they have something to do with your brother?" The girl blurted, before she could stop herself.

"Brother?" Ranko asked, faltering for just a moment in her routine.

"That man who looks like you." Umiko explained. "He's your brother or something, right? That's why Mom keeps talking about that Ranma person, and Dad's so mad."

Ranko smiled sadly. "Yeah, sorta."

That wasn't exactly a satisfactory answer, but it appeared that Umiko wasn't going to get one as it was all Ranko would say to her other than common small talk for the rest of the morning.

HR.

Nabiki Tendo grunted to herself as she hung up the phone for the sixth time in the past half hour. "She wasn't staying there either, Kasumi." She grumbled, frustrated. "Are there any more of her friends you can remember?"

The older Tendo woman shook her head, and a small amount of worry was now visible in her eyes as well.

"Damn it, I should have called last night." Nabiki muttered to herself. She'd been worried about Akane's mental state, since she'd just disappeared after talking to Ranma, but it was no excuse for having forgotten about Umiko. She and Kasumi practically raised the girl, after all.

As if in answer to the brown haired woman's mental tirade, a knocking sound was heard at the door, and she moved before Kasumi could react, running up and throwing it open. Much to her shock, she saw Ranma standing there, in full uniform, and with Umiko by her side.

"She got lost again?" She asked, surprised. This was very unusual, especially since Umiko's sense of direction seemed much improved from her parents' most of the time, but she was too relieved to care.

"Not exactly." Ranko said, deadpan. She noticed a horrified expression spread across the young girl's face, but continued regardless. "She apparently felt that you and Kasumi were giving her too few answers, so she came looking for me."

"What?" Nabiki asked, her eyes widening.

"Umiko, Go get ready for school, all right?" Ranko said, pushing the girl into the house.

Umiko gave the older woman a betrayed look, but she was confused when Ranko gave her a reassuring smile. Once she was out of earshot, Nabiki snapped, "What the hell did you mean by that, Sato?" and then, as if she'd just remembered something, "And what did you tell Akane?"

Ranko shrugged, having almost expected this reaction. "I mean that maybe you should consider what some people'll do ta get info, or ta keep from getting it." She answered, simply. "I think ya should tell that kid somethin. I'd rather it be the truth, but I know I suck at tact, so I ain't gunna do it."

"But she's too young…" Nabiki started, uncertainly.

"Yeah, probably, but considerin her mom ended up erasing the memory when she found out somethin like this without anyone ta support her, I'm inclined ta take the risk."

"Akane what?!" Nabiki asked, then grabbed Ranko by the hand. "You're going to explain that, NOW."

Ranko nodded, following Nabiki as she marched back into the house, and smiled at Kasumi as she entered the living room.

HR.

"You're late this morning, something go wrong?" Kimiko asked, as she saw her partner walking through the department's front doors.

Ranko grimaced at her. "I'm being stalked by an eight year old." She explained, simply.

Kimiko almost snorted her coffee, and needed a pat on the back from her partner to get her breath back. "I have to admit, that's a new one." She said, confused. "That Hibiki girl, right?" At Ranko's nod, she smirked. "Sure you don't want to adopt her?"

"Not funny." Ranko grimaced, irritated. "So, what I got this morning?"

"I checked the bulletin board." Kimiko answered, quickly. "You're supposed to be doing one of those under-age drinking speeches at Juuban Jr. High."

"Lovely." Ranko groaned.

"Hey, the way I figure it, you're perfect for it." Kimiko said, smirking. "What was it, one bottle of Sake?"

"Very funny." Ranko grumbled, and then walked off to pick up her stuff. Kimiko couldn't help but smile as she saw her leave. Ranko had been complaining about going to see that psychologist since she'd been told about it, but something had improved her mood remarkably from the pit it had been in recently. "Of course, could have been the kid." She muttered, shrugging.

She had briefly thought of commenting about the odd similarity in burns between Ranko and the murder victims, but she honestly couldn't break her friend's mood this morning.

HR.

Later that afternoon, Ranko walked down a street in Juuban, smiling to herself. Today had been, surprisingly, a very good one for her. The morning's meeting with Nabiki had been somewhat confrontational, but the explanation of what Akane had done to that damned pig had cheered her immensely, and she couldn't deny that she'd been feeling very slightly better since the night before, when she'd been able to vent pretty well everything that annoyed her to someone who, she knew, couldn't tell anyone what she said.

As she thought of this, she began to stride slightly faster, until she noticed a cluster of people gathered around the mouth of an alleyway. Altering her course slightly, the police officer came into hearing range of the crowd, and her good mood suddenly began to sour.

"…is that thing human?" Came one person's question. "I… I think it's moving." Said another. "But it's so beaten up, and… I think we should call an ambulance, or something." A third chipped in. "I don't know, it looks kind of like one of those monsters the Senshi fight. Maybe we shouldn't go near it." Another said, nervously, before Ranko put her hand on someone's shoulder.

"What's happening here?" The redhead asked, calmly.

"Oh, a police officer!" The young man she'd just questioned said, a note of obvious relief in his voice. In response to that, the crowd seemed to part slightly, allowing Ranko access to what they were looking at. Looking down at the small thing laying at the mouth of the alley, her heart froze. "Is that…?" She breathed, running over to the crumpled mass, though reluctant to touch it. There were burn holes all over its clothing and skin, and they looked extremely severe.

Very slowly, the former martial artist reached out and gently turned the person over, to see glassy, pain filled eyes looking up into hers. "…Happosai?" She asked, her face going pale.

Reacting mostly on instinct, she reached down to her belt, grabbing up the small radio device clipped there, and raised it to her mouth. "Sato here, I've got a badly burned individual, Medical assistance requested." She gave the street address, then snapped off the device.

"Okay, ol' fr… Okay, help's on the way." She said, cutting herself off before she could use her old habitual insult.

Happosai groaned, and his hand twitched, rising slightly. As Ranko leaned forward, she felt him grab onto her shirt front, and was about to ask him what he wanted when she felt him groping her chest through the fabric. "You old bastard." She growled, but knew full well that any retaliatory action would likely kill the man. Instead, she gently pulled his hand away, and stood up.

"All right, does anyone know what happened here?" She demanded, looking around at the remnants of the crowd who hadn't taken off when she'd arrived.

HR.

Fifteen minutes later, Ranko was watching Happosai get loaded onto the back of an ambulance, and she had precious few notes on what had happened. Apparently the old man had managed to drag himself out from deeper in the alley only an hour before, and when she'd investigated what was further down, she'd only found a crater in the ground and some Chi energy based scorching on the walls.

Still, as she watched the proceedings, one thought ran through the redhead's brain. "Who the hell could do that to the old freak?" He hadn't managed to say anything since he'd been found, and she hadn't wanted to push it, but still… this was looking a lot more serious than even a serial killer, now.

HR.

Umiko entered the Tendo home after school, more worried than she'd been since she accidentally smashed the principal's window last year. "I'm home!" She called, reluctantly, and heard aunt Kasumi calling out her usual response.

As she entered the living room, she saw aunt Nabiki working on something from work, but the older woman pushed her papers aside when she saw her. "Welcome home, Umiko." She said, calmly.

The girl nodded slowly. She knew she was going to get blasted, but decided that she may as well face it rather than running, so she walked up and sat in the seat across from the middle Tendo sister.

"Do you know how dangerous it was for you to hike half way across the city?" Nabiki asked, still as calm as before. Seeing Umiko nod, she shook her head. "No, actually, I'm pretty sure you don't…" She trailed off, as if thinking of something very unpleasant, but then shook her head. "Still, Ranko-san explained to me why you went out and looked for her, and I really should have seen it coming."

"What?" Umiko asked, absolutely confused.

"I teach you to value knowledge above everything, then I act surprised when you go and try and find another way to get it after Kasumi and I deny it to you." She smirked. "I don't know whether I should be hitting you and grounding you for a year, or saying how proud I am… so I decided to go for the middle ground. You're grounded for the next month."

Umiko opened her mouth, but Nabiki continued. "…BUT, Ranko's right, and if we don't tell you at least some of what's been going on, you'll probably try something just as stupid to find out, so I'm going to tell you why your Dad's so angry. It all started about 14 years ago…"

HR.

In a cheap hotel room just outside of Nerima, a rather bulky man slumped down in a chair next to the bed, sighing in disgust. He hadn't found anything of any interest since over a month earlier, and wasn't sure what they expected him to do here. He'd left his family to help search, but now he was being run down blind alleys, while everyone else was in danger.

He let his thoughts drift for a moment, until the sound of the phone next to him ringing jolted him out of his thoughts. "Hello?" He asked, in English, after picking up the handset.

He listened for a moment, and then blinked. "One survived? …but what about the last… He wasn't positive, well, at least that's a good sign. Let me guess, you want me to test this one too?"

The man sighed. "I'm seriously having doubts about this operation, but I'll do my best." He said, and then hung up.

END.

Well, incert dramatic music here!

Incert shameless review groveling here!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, everyone. Now, I'm going to go to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17: Happi News

New chapter of this. Short. Sorry, seems to be how this story likes to work. If I get anything out, it's a short chapter. Anyhow, hope you enjoy it, and please tell me how you think it was, both good and bad.

Enough of my blathering, on with the fic!

Chapter 17: Happi News.

Ranko entered the Nerima PD's main lobby with a troubled expression on her face, thinking of what she'd seen only a little over an hour ago. She had seen Happosai brought down before, but it was almost never in straight up combat, and the burns all over his body indicated that the same sick bastard who liked jumping innocents in back alleys was capable of taking out a martial arts master.

When the redhead walked past the cafeteria on her way down a hall in the back of the station, she was joined by Kimiko, who had apparently just been eating dinner there before going home, though she didn't seem to notice. "Hey," the brown haired woman said, snapping her fingers in front of her friend's face. Ranko jumped, turning to her in startlement, and she snickered. "What's up? I haven't ever seen you this distracted."

Ranko shook her head as she entered the locker room at the back of the building, which she very rarely ever used when she didn't want to work out in the training rooms, and opened her locker.

"Hmm, I don't suppose she of the perpetually repressed libido is distracted by a hot date or something?" Ranko's partner tried, getting rolled eyes for her efforts.

"I ain't you, remember?" The redhead shot back, extracting a small bag with her sports clothes in it from the locker and slamming the door. "It's a bit more serious than that, actually."

"Oh," Kimiko said, slightly curious but also worried. "What happened?"

"That burn guy hit again," Ranko explained. "This victim ain't dead, but he's someone I knew."

"Oh," The injured police woman said again, a lot more worried. "One of your friends?"

Ranko shook her head. "Um, sort of," she noted, trying to be tight lipped.

"Ah, another mortal enemy who wanted to rip your head off," Kimiko noted. "How many of those did you have when you were younger?"

Ranko grimaced. "Lost count," she admitted, before slinging the gym bag over her shoulder and heading for the door.

"Just remember," Kimiko called after her, "Especially if it's someone you know, leave it to the CSIs and detectives to figure out or you'll be shot or something."

Ranko nodded, but the other woman didn't seem terribly convinced. Still, she had a date tonight, and it was looking like her partner was going to spend her time working out her frustration in the gym. This usually meant that Kimiko would stay far away, for fear of being dragged into the torture that the redhead laughingly called endurance practice.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she called, as the locker room door swung closed.

HR.

Umiko Hibiki had heard, seen and even done many strange things in her short life. She personally thought the time she'd ended up in San Diego at the age of six was quite an accomplishment, but at the moment she was processing a story that was about as improbable.

Aunt Nabiki had told her everything, at least as far as she could tell. At least she hoped so. After all, she thought that if there was something more involved than a sex changing Jusenkyo curse, her dad as a pig, and the love triangle from heck she didn't really want to know about it, and it was taking her a while to figure out how she felt about it.

The problem was, she was coming up with feelings on the subject that she was pretty sure weren't exactly good to have. She'd heard other children, in school, talk about their parents with pride, or defend them when they were insulted, but Umiko, to be quite honest, knew next to nothing about hers. They'd always been away, lost, while her aunts took care of her, and at the moment she was finding it much easier to empathize with Ranko-san, a friend who had helped guide her back home twice and seemed to be close to her aunts, than her father, who had apparently tried to kill someone over a fight that was older than she was.

It all seemed so stupid, but she was sure that she had gotten something wrong. Rolling over in her bed, she looked out the window, frowning out at the sun as it began to go down. "Oh well," she mumbled, watching the sky wash itself out with orange. "I guess getting grounded'll give me lots of time to think about it." Rolling over again, she grumbled. She was irritated at Ranko for one reason, even if it wasn't for her father. "Did she have to tell aunt Nabiki?" She muttered, sourly, tugging her blanket over her head and trying to get to sleep.

HR.

Later that night, Ranko had made it back to Nerima General, kind of wishing that she didn't have to visit this place again, but knowing that she needed to do something. Finding out what room Happosai was in was easy, as she was a police officer and he was noted as being part of an investigation, though her eyebrows rose when she got to his door and noted there wasn't a guard on it. Shrugging, she decided that the rest of the department had come to the same conclusion she had, and unlocked the door with a key she'd been given by the receptionist, pushing it open to reveal a well lit room where a little old gnome was sitting, trying to read a book.

As she got close to his bed, Happosai's head slowly rose to face the police woman, and she noted that his eyes seemed a lot dimmer than she was used to. "Hope I ain't interrupting anything," she said, gesturing to his book.

Happosai chuckled softly, putting the book down next to him. "Nah, it doesn't have nearly enough pretty ladies in it to be entertaining," he smirked, gazing at the redhead's chest happily rather than her eyes.

Ranko grimaced. "Can't believe I almost missed you," she noted, and tossed her gym bag onto his bed with a soft thump.

"A present?" Happosai asked, "for me?" After saying this, he scuttled forward, unzipping the bag and gleefully removing a grey set of sports bra and panties that were inside, enfolded in the fighting gi. "Hmm, not too frilly, are they?"

"They're the most full of energy I could think of without swiping someone else's undies, and I wasn't gunna do that," Ranko grumbled. "Take 'em or leav 'em."

The old man nodded, dropping his usual cheerfully lecherous act for a moment and actively beginning to draw the female energy from the undergarments, wisps of pink and red entering his body slowly. Once he was done, he set them back into the bag and looked at the woman much more steadily, his eyes much brighter. "Thank you, Ranma," he noted.

The redhead looked away, scratching the back of her head. "Ya didn't look too good, wasn't sure ya could get your fix on your own," she explained. "If you ever tell anyone, I'm taking the energy back by force."

The old man chuckled, leaning back against the pillow at the end of the bed and wincing at the burns that were still covering most of his body, even if bandaged. "Got it," he said, nodding. The room descended into uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Ranko finally broke it.

"Do ya got any idea who did it?" She asked, simply. "I know ya told them you didn't earlier, but this is off the record, did ya sense their Chi or something? Notice their fighting style?"

The old man sighed. "You know that anyone who tries to catch him will probably die," he commented.

Ranko nodded.

"I recognized the aura," Happosai confessed. "I wasn't able to pin it down, it seemed… wrong, like it'd been twisted, but there was something familiar about it." He shook his head. "I know it was someone I interacted with in Nerima, and that it wasn't one of my favored glomping victims, unfortunately there was so much extra energy mixed in with the base signal that I'm not sure if it was originally male or female."

"Well, that narrows things down from half a city and a bunch of demons to twenty or thirty people," Ranko contemplated, before turning and heading for the door. "Thanks a lot, ol' freak."

As she was about to walk out the door, Happosai raised a hand and called, "Wait!"

"Hmm?" The former martial artist asked, turning back to the old man in confusion.

"Ranma," He noted her wince, and changed the name. "Ranko, I know I'm not the most moral old man, but whatever hit me has to be stopped. I'll probably be up again in the next few weeks, but if you honestly want to try and fight it…" He trailed off, before reaching over to a pad of paper on the edge of the table next to his bed, and grabbing it, began to write, seeming to etch words onto the sheet with his finger, though Ranko knew that he was probably using Chi to do it. She looked at the perverted master for a moment, confused, before he gestured her over to him.

Walking over, she was given the paper, and looked down to read a set of untidily scrawled words in a chicken scratch that she could barely make out. "I, Grand Master Happosai of the Anything Goes Martial Arts, hereby reinstate Sato Ranko as a practitioner and Master of said school, with all rights and responsibilities of said office."

The redhead blinked, looking down at the balding martial artist in shock. "Huh?" She asked, confused.

Happosai shrugged. "Those ungrateful students never even asked me if I wanted you kicked out in the first place," he explained, and then smirked lecherously. "I lost one of my favorite glomping targets when you left!"

The officer's eyebrow twitched. "Y'know, for a second there I thought you were being all noble."

"Of course not! Where would you get that idea?" Happosai chuckled, before beginning to cough, apparently having expended a lot of his new chi reserve on the paper writing trick.

"I'll go get ya some water," Ranko offered, walking out of the room and down the hall, her mind rather full of confusing thoughts. The loss of the majority of her art, and her lack of motivation to replace the central portions of it with something else to make her most powerful moves usable again, had been weighing on her for a good portion of the past ten years, even after she'd become a police officer to continue defending the weak. Looking down at her new, rather poorly scrawled, licence to continue in it, she briefly wondered what it meant. Shaking her head, she poured a glass of water from a water cooler around the corner from Happosai's room, and slipped the paper into her pocket for safe keeping.

As she came back into view of the old man's room again, she noted that his light was out, and there was a figure hurrying down the hall, looking about as suspicious as it was possible to be. "Hey, stop!" She called, though the figure just cast a quick look over its shoulder and broke into a run. Ranko followed after, even as her quarry burst through a door at the end of the hall and started down the stairs.

Deciding to catch up fast, the short redhead ran through the door before it could close all the way, grabbing the railing and throwing herself down to the next landing, directly in front of the figure. As she got a clear look at its face, her eyes widened. "What? Ba…" She started, before the person's eyes seemed to flash, catching her in her tracks.

"You have seen nothing. You will act as though I was never here," it said in a low and steady voice.

Ranko's eyes flicked around for a moment, before catching on the other's again, and she slowly nodded.

HR.

"Hey ol' perv, I've got your water," Ranko called, as she entered Happosai's room, only to see that the lights were off and he was asleep, snuggling the bra she'd brought him. Shuddering in disgust at that sight, she reminded herself that he needed those things to live, and drank the glass of water herself before tossing the disposable paper cup into a waist basket next to the door.

"Good night, I guess," she noted, turning and closing the door before heading downstairs, feeling for some reason that she was missing something.

HR.

Nabiki cursed her seeming insomnia, as she entered another set of sums in her currency calculator, cross-referencing them with a price list on her laptop and wondering when she was just going to fall fast asleep on the kitchen table. Still, it was rather understandable that she had such a hard time getting rest, considering the close call her family had just had regarding Umiko and the fact that her emotionally distraught sister was still missing.

Of course, Akane being missing wasn't anything new since she'd married Ryoga, but she was, or had been when she was younger, rather prone to making stupid decisions when upset and Nabiki would feel much safer if she was in the house. She wondered if she could convince Akane to wear that safety rope, this time, though somehow she doubted it.

As she sent the set of calculations she'd just made off via E-mail to her secretary to put into operation, the currently youngest Tendo sister heard the sound of the front door opening, and of a rather tired "I'm home." Shutting down her computer, she stood, hurrying into the hallway next to the dining room to see Akane, though the blue-black haired woman was half dead on her feet.

"Well, you look cheerful tonight," Nabiki said, her reflexive snideness overriding her immense relief.

Akane just nodded, walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge, before retrieving a bottle of Sake. Nabiki's eyes widened, then she sighed, pulling two glasses out of the cupboard over the sink and plunking them on the counter, moving her laptop into the middle of the table. She was pretty sure, judging by this reaction, that her sister wasn't taking things well.

"How could I be so dense?" Akane asked, morosely, filling both of the small cups and sitting in the chair across from where her older sister had been.

Nabiki frowned. "All of us missed it," she admitted. "I mean yeah, it's obvious, but it's one of those things that's hard to wrap your head around, and he never straight out told us or showed his curse around us like Ranma and the others did."

"When did you figure it out?" Akane asked, taking a long sip of her drink.

"About six months after you got married," the middle Tendo admitted, sheepishly. "I remember wondering how the hell I could be so stupid for weeks, before I realized how strange the idea even was…" She shook her head. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I didn't catch it."

The former youngest Tendo snorted. "Not much," she muttered bitterly.

"Yup," Nabiki replied, downing her entire glass of sake in one gulp and resisting the urge to cough. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Akane didn't answer for a moment, looking out into the night beyond the kitchen window. "I have no idea," she admitted softly. "The last few weeks have been so confusing," she shook her head. "When I first found out about Ryoga's curse, and that Ranma knew… you know I tried to smash him with something? It'd be so easy if I could just find somewhere to put all the blame for this, but… Even I'm part of it," she admitted reluctantly.

Her older sister nodded. "If you want, I can try and arrange it so you aren't called at his trial," she offered tentatively.

Akane shook her head violently. "No," She said, firmly. "One thing I do know, if I run away from that I've failed completely."

Nabiki looked unsure, but eventually nodded. "If you're sure, sis," she noted, before bringing up another topic. "Um, what about Ranma?" Akane looked at the brown haired woman sharply, so Nabiki continued. "Umiko's gotten a little attached to a certain police officer," she admitted, letting a small smirk play across her mouth, and deciding not to tell Akane precisely what her daughter had done the day before, to avoid a heart attack. "She and Kasumi have made Ranko promise that she'll come back some time, are you all right with that?"

Akane poured another glass of sake, and sipped at it before admitting "I'm not sure." At Nabiki's steady look, she shrugged. "I think I'm going to need to think about that."

The older woman just nodded, before standing and putting her cup into the sink. "All right," she noted, "but things are probably going to be over soon, for good or bad,. I don't really want to pressure you, but I have to, at least on the matter of Ryoga."

Akane nodded, still nursing the bottle of alcohol, as her sister exited the room, heading upstairs.

END.

OMAKE – OMAKE – OMAKE – OMAKE – OMAKE.

"You have seen nothing. You will act as though I was never here," it said in a low and steady voice.

Ranko's eyes flicked around for a moment, before a sudden, booming voice came from the ceiling, causing both her and her opponent to look up. "Your mind trick fails against high will, critical miss."

"Oh shit…" the figure started, before Ranko's eyebrow twitched, and she landed a quite painful knee into the thing's stomach.

"Oh, critical hit," the voice noted, sounding impressed.


End file.
